Latest news with #BharatmalaPariyojna
Indian Express
29-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Voice from inside one of India's widest tunnels: ‘Can't build by fighting with rock'
There are many stories behind the 4.89-km-long, eight-lane tunnel on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway that cuts through Mukundra Hills in Rajasthan's Kota. One of them is that of 58-year-old Madhukar, who has built tunnels all his life. He started this project during Covid in 2021 at the north end, in what could well be his last assignment before retirement in two years. Now, faced with a difficult 500m stretch — he calls it the 'nala portion' — Madhukar is determined to complete his ninth project successfully, and gets emotional while recounting his association with the tunnel. The tunnel, which falls between Ummedpura and Nayagaon village in Kota, is a key link of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway — one of the most ambitious projects of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) under the Bharatmala Pariyojna. With a width of 22 metres and a height of 11 metres, it is also one of the widest tunnels in the country, passing through different rock masses and substrata that include sandstone, shale, siltstone, mudstone and limestone. In the project cluster, which is divided into 53 packages, the Ummedpura-Nayagaon tunnel is being constructed by a joint venture of Dilip Buildcon Limited and Altis-Holding Corporation. It was originally a 30-month project scheduled to be completed in January 2024, but got delayed due to challenges during excavation and is now likely to be completed by the year-end. 'Hum rock se dosti karte hain, aap rock se dushmani karke tunnel nahi bana sakte (We befriend the rock, you can't make a tunnel by fighting with the rock). In this project also, we have come to the most difficult part, but we will pass it slowly. We have to just understand the behaviour of the rock,' said Madhukar, a resident of Khagaria in Bihar, who is in charge of the blasting. Having worked in difficult terrains across Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh, Madhukar, who holds a diploma in mining, deconstructs the challenge. 'The top surface of the hill is in a zig-zag shape. We have come to a point where the distance between the top of the tunnel and the surface of the mountain is just 10.62m. Technically, we call it overburden. So, if not dealt with carefully, it may collapse anytime. For this, we are using a pilot tunneling methodology, where we first excavate a smaller tunnel in advance of the main tunnel's construction,' he said. The tunnel is part of 8.3-km Package-15 of the 1,386-km expressway project. According to NHAI, the owning authority of the expressway, the cost of the tunnel was Rs 1,000 crore before being revised to Rs 1,250 crore. Sanjay Kumar, project head and general manager (Engineering Tunnel) of Dilip Buildcon, said the tunnel is almost 80 per cent complete. 'This 8.3 km stretch of the expressway involves the construction of the highway, an open ramp, a covered tunnel and an underground tunnel. The total length of the underground tunnel is 3.3 km. On the north side, there is a 480m cut & cover tunnel. On the south portal, we have built a 1,084m cut & cover tunnel. Cut & cover is a camouflaged tunnel, which was later made part of the project as per suggestions from the Forest department as it traverses the protected area. This will help animals to pass from one side to another without disturbing the habitat,' said Kumar. 'In tunneling, and especially for such fragile stretches, we have to decide our next step at every metre of excavation. In this 500m section, we are building a smaller tunnel, then we will widen it to take the shape of the main tunnel. It is like making a tunnel inside a tunnel. Currently, on an average, we are excavating 1.2m per day. After that, we will do benching, where the lower part will be excavated. After its completion, it will connect Chechat in Rajasthan to Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh,' said Kumar, the project head. Vikas Prasad, a geologist from Jharkhand, explains the challenges. 'The rock mass is very weak and highly fractured, Because of this, we had to face some unforeseen changes in the geological condition. There was very heavy ground water ingress inside the tunnel. Along with this, due to heavy rainfall, the tunnel submerged in 2022, 2023 and 2024. When we started work, we thought we would get hard strata but the rock formation is soft. Also, we have to give a 100-year guarantee that the tunnel will remain safe,' said Prasad. Surendra Singh, the safety expert, said that since excavation is nearing completion, the next step is to install a robust safety system. 'The tunnel will be equipped with the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system. It will have power supply, ventilation system, fire fighting and hydrant system, fire alarm, gas suppression system, optical linear heat detection, public address, CCTV, emergency telephone, gas sensor, radio rebroadcasting system, signages, emergency power, communication & traffic control, lighting etc,' said Singh. Pardeep Atri, regional officer, NHAI, Jaipur, said the breakthrough was completed on February 20 and April 10. 'The tunnel breakthrough is a sensational moment, when the tunnel being excavated from both sides finally meets. At this moment, for the first time, the air gushes from one side to another and increases the oxygen level,' he said. According to Atri, this tunnel is in an eco-sensitive zone, due to which there were concerns from the forest and wildlife department. 'We redesigned the project accordingly. Most of the tunnels in the country are four-lane. We are building two four-lane tunnels here, which will be a great achievement for the more than 2,000 people who worked on this project. Vehicle movement will start from these tunnels by March 2026,' he said. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
New Indian Express
04-06-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
NHAI delays causing Odisha economic loss
Chop-and-change is perhaps the best way to describe the National Highway Authority of India's approach in Odisha. Its latest casualty is the coastal highway project under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojna. After years of delay, the key economic corridor has again suffered a setback with the agency cancelling its tender last week. In January, the NHAI invited bids for a 346-km, four-lane stretch to be executed in four phases at an estimated cost of `7,040 crore. Four months later, it has decided to revisit the plan. Unviable traffic volume seems to have become the trigger for the change of mind after all these years—the NHAI is now considering a two-lane, access-controlled carriageway. The 451-km coastal highway was approved in 2018 and sent for the Odisha government's approval. The state suggested that Chilika lagoon be kept out of the alignment. The next year, more protected areas along the route were excluded and the length was revised to 377 km. Local resistance and other challenges prompted further changes and, finally, a 346-km project was finalised, requiring yet another detailed project report. So the state is assured of more delays and higher costs as statutory clearances will have to be secured.
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Time of India
Held after complaint to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, 3 get bail, but get re-arrested for breach of peace
1 2 Bathinda : Tensions flared in this Punjab district after villagers from Mehraj rallied against police action following arrests linked to a compensation fraud complaint made directly to chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. The controversy began on Thursday when Ranjodh Singh of Mehraj alleged during the CM's visit to Bathinda that villagers had been duped of ₹20,000 for each acre in exchange for promises of higher land compensation under the Bharatmala Pariyojna highway project. Acting on Mann's orders, police registered an FIR (first-information report) swiftly and arrested three men — Malkit Singh, Jagmohan Singh, and Harpal Singh — the same evening. Even though a court granted them bail on Friday, the trio was re-arrested quickly under preventive sections of the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), sparking widespread anger among locals. Protesters announced plans to block the Bathinda-Chandigarh highway at Rampura unless the men were released. By Saturday, the subdivisional magistrate intervened, granting them bail to defuse tensions. Harinder Singh, former president of the Mehraj Nagar panchayat, said: "Instead of investigating, the police acted solely on the CM's verbal directive. Villagers from multiple areas had pooled money voluntarily through committees. The arrested had no direct role." He said locals would now seek cancellation of the FIR. Meanwhile, outrage deepened with the custodial death of Narinderdeep Singh, a 34-year-old English teacher, whose family accused Bathinda police of torture. The crime investigation agency (CIA-2) officials had on May 23 allegedly picked up this Goniana resident who taught at an IELTS centre, on suspicion of drug links. His friend, Gagandeep, uploaded a video claiming Narinderdeep Singh had died of third-degree torture. Police, however, told the family the teacher had died in a road accident. On Saturday, the family released an autopsy report from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bathinda and referenced it to claim that Narinderdeep Singh had signs of electric shocks on various parts of his body, including his genitals. Police have now registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against four officers — assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Avtar Singh, head constable Harwinder Singh, and senior constables Lakhwinder Singh and Gurpal Singh. Investigations into both incidents are in progress. MSID:: 121535045 413 |
Time of India
29-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Wildlife panel clears Rajaji buffer land diversion for Kotdwar bypass project
Dehradun: The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife approved the diversion of 1.1 hectare of forest land from the buffer zones of Rajaji Tiger Reserve and Shivalik Elephant Reserve for the 4-laning of the Kotdwar bypass under Bharatmala Pariyojna, during a meeting in March, with minutes released recently. The land will be used to connect the Najibabad-Kotdwar road to the Kotdwar-Pauri road. Rajaji Tiger Reserve is a critical habitat for tigers, leopards, elephants and other wildlife species, while the Shivalik Elephant Reserve plays a key role in elephant conservation in the country. Environmentalists have often raised concerns about infrastructure projects cutting across this landscape, citing risks of habitat fragmentation and disruption to wildlife corridors. The Kotdwar bypass is part of Bharatmala Pariyojna, a national programme aimed at improving road connectivity across India. During its 80th meeting, the SCNBWL had formed a committee comprising experts from the ministry of forest, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Wildlife Institute of India, state forest department, and the user agency (ministry of road transport and highways). The committee carried out the site appraisal and examined the animal passage plan linked to the project. In the 81st meeting, the committee deferred the proposal to allow a comprehensive review with all stakeholders on road projects in the Rajaji-Corbett landscape before taking final stand on the matter. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 10 Mysterious Photos That Cannot Be Explained True Edition Undo Following an analysis by the committee and expert reviews, the SCNBWL cleared the project in March with ten conditions. The minutes accessed by TOI said, "The User Agency shall comply with all the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and all other Acts, Rules, Regulations, Guidelines, honourable Court Orders, and honourable NGT orders pertaining to this project, if any, for the time being in force, as applicable to the project." One of the conditions stated that forest land shall not be used for any purpose other than specified in the proposal. The User Agency and the chief wildlife warden would be responsible for submitting an annual compliance certificate. Regular monitoring and checks for any violations of guidelines or the Act would be overseen by the divisional forest officer or director. Setting up labour camps within the buffer zone has been prohibited. "All the recommendations of the site inspection committee shall be adhered to by the User Agency. While compensating for the buildings and trees, the state govt may process the claim in the proposal submitted under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980," the minutes further said. The minutes added that the legal status of the diverted forest land would remain unchanged, and only the minimum identified trees would be cut following standard practices. Both the Uttarakhand high court and Supreme Court have in recent years stressed the importance of careful environmental assessments before allowing road expansions in sensitive ecological zones like Rajaji and Shivalik.
