Difficult terrain, poor connectivity creating hurdles on Dharm-Sangarh rail tunnel project

Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, June 8: Extremely difficult terrain, remote sites, poor road connectivity and hostile weather conditions are creating hurdles in smooth work on India’s second largest tunnel under Udhampur-Baramulla-Srinagar Rail line project near Sangaldhan in Ramban district.
Notwithstanding all out efforts of the executing agency,  the excavation and allied works on 10.2 kilometre long twin tunnel from Dharamkund near Sangaldhan to Sumbarh in Ramban district is still in initial phase due to mobilization hiccups even after more than eight months since the project was awarded, official sources informed the Excelsior.
Rs 884 crore worth project for this tunnel (T48) has been awarded to Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) Limited, India’s leading infrastructure company, which has also built the Pir Panjal tunnel between Banihal and Qazigund on the rail line.  HCC received the order for construction of T48 tunnel in September-October 2012. It is a repeat order to HCC awarded by IRCON International Limited, which is engaged in constructing the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway line.
Even as the logistic operations were started immediately after the work was allotted to the company, it took months to transport required machinery at the site due to extremely poor road connectivity in this hilly area and no approaching way.
Old bridges en route Dharamkund and Sumbarh were the main constraints in transporting heavy machinery to the site, sources explained and gave example of limited capacity of Dharamkund bridge on Chenab river due to which they were using 50 kilometre longer route via Reasi to reach Sumbarh. “On these old bridges with limited capacity, we are left with no option other than to take some longer route or unload the machinery before crossing them, “sources said.
No road connectivity with the actual site of work was another major problem for which the construction company had to develop kilometres long approach roads through extremely difficult terrain while hostile weather conditions were making the task more complicated. “Due to rainfall, these small and narrow approach roads get blocked thus putting brakes on progress of the ongoing work,” sources said.
When contacted, the HCC Project Manager Sharnappa Yalal said that mobilization of men and machinery at the site was 95 percent complete and the ongoing work is likely to gain pace in coming months.  “Despite all hurdles and hostile conditions, we are hopeful to complete the project within the stipulated time of 60 months,” he claimed.
While excavation work on T48 tunnel has been started from both ends after portal developments at Dharam and Sumbarh, an adit tunnel is being constructed from Kholi, at five kilometre aerial distance from Dharam, to start digging on two more points for speeding up work on actual tunnel, Mr Yalal informed the Excelsior.
So far 240 metre natural tunnel has been dug from Dharamkund end in addition to added tunnel structure of 310 meters while on the Sumbarh side, excavation of natural tunnel is all set to begin as portal developments such as  work on leveling of the entry point and removal of loose rocks are  near completion, he  added.
However, the under construction Kholi adit tunnel is likely to take approximately nine more months to reach the main tunnel alignment point, he further said.

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