HT Correspondent
Tezpur, Sept 29: Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry, DG Border Roads visited Sela Tunnel Project on Thursday. The breakthrough of this tunnel he visited on the day was carried out by the Raksha Mantri himself through ane-ceremony from India Gate, New Delhi on 14th Oct last year.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been committed to Nation building, disaster mitigation and development since the past 62 years. The immense contribution includes construction of over 60,000 Kms of roads, 800 bridges, 4 tunnels and 19 airfields connecting the distant locations with the mainstream of India. BRO is a vital facilitator of the Government of India vision, to implement economic development and to facilitate provision of basic services, tourism and upkeep of peace and security in the remote border areas by construction of communication arteries and linking them to the mainstream. Their efforts have led to an improvement in all-weather connectivity to the remote and inaccessible areas of our Nation.
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Connectivity to the Tawang is through Balipara-Charduar-Tawang road only and it gets affected badly due to formidable obstacle of Sela Pass which is situated at an altitude of 13,700 ft and restricts movement of the Army Convoys and Civil vehicles during winter season due to excessive snowfall. The Sela Tunnel project is being executed by BRO to ensure all-weather connectivity to Tawang.
Project Vartak of BRO is executing the task which comprises construction of two tunnels, one of 1.5 Km (Twin Tubes) and other of 1 km length. The tunnels are connected to the main BCT axis through approach roads. The project will by-pass the existing narrow road leading to Sela Pass and will connect Baisakhi to Nuranang with a double lane specification road having two tunnels. This will allow unhindered traffic movement in the winter season. Construction of this project will result in a saving of 8 Km distance and 1 and ½ hours journey through treacherous Sela Pass will be saved.
The foundation stone of the project was laid by the Prime Minister in February, 2019 and within two years BRO has completed the excavation of both tunnels of the project. Lining and Electric & Mechanical work of the tunnel are proceeding with full swing. Sela tunnel, once constructed, will be the longest bi-lane tunnel in the world at an altitude above 13,000 ft which will be another jewel in India’s crown.
BRO is setting unprecedented standards of pace of tunnel construction in the Himalayas. BRO has also achieved completion of excavation of 500 m long Nechiphu tunnel at breakneck speeds cutting through the foggiest stretch on Balipara-Charduar-Tawang Road in West Arunachal Pradesh. DGBR also stated that infrastructure development works in the region have picked up significant pace in the last two years and many new technologies are being introduced for further accelerating the work.
