Construction of twin-tube tunnel near Kotla on Pathankot-Mandi highway under a cloud

The construction of a 450-metre-long twin-tube tunnel at Trilokpur near Kotla on the under-constructionPathankot-Mandi four-lane highway project is under a cloud.

One tube of the tunnel has remained closed for traffic movement since June end following landslides at its entrance on the Pathankot side. The unabated landslides for the past four months have put a question mark on the construction of the tunnel and the cutting of fragile hills by the construction company engaged by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The construction company deployed its machinery to clear the blockade but debris continued to fall, blocking the entrance of the tunnel repeatedly.

Vehicles coming from the Pathankot side have been passing through the tunnel, which was opened for traffic at the beginning of June, but frequent landslides during the monsoon season made the conditions at the entrance of the tunnel worse. Though the monsoon season has ended, landslides continued to block the entrance of the tunnel last week. Locals allege that against 45 degrees permissible hill cutting on the roadside, the construction company has razed the fragile hills near the twin-tube tunnel at 90 degrees, posing a constant threat of landslides even after the monsoon season was over.

Local environmentalists Anil Sharma of Seuni, Dinesh Kumar of Soldha and Aman Rana of Bhalli village have flagged their concern over the quality of the ongoing construction of the second phase of the Pathankot-Mandi four-lane highway project from Bherkhud to Seuni. They have alleged a nexus between NHAI officials and the construction company. They say that wrong hill cutting without conducting a study of the strata is responsible for frequent landslides on the entrance of one tube of the tunnel. They demand a high-level technical probe into the construction of this twin-tube tunnel that the NHAI had built at a cost of Rs 290 crore.

Durga Dass, pradhan of Trilokpur gram panchayat, says that a low-height protection wall built by the construction company without using steel collapsed during the monsoon season. He adds that the NHAI should have taken the fragile strata of the hills into consideration before constructing the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Tushar Singh, Deputy General Manager (DGM), NHAI, Palampur, says that an expert from the NHAI regional office had recently inspected the hills and recommended the construction of a high reinforced cement concrete (RCC) protection wall and other slope stabilisation measures to stop frequent landslides. “The NHAI has also written to the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, for the acquisition of some forestland on the hilltop for slope stabilisation work,” he adds.