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Boost To Uttarakhand’s Chardham Project: Breakthrough In Construction Of 450 Metre Tunnel Beneath Chamba Town Achieved
Swarajya Staff
May 26, 2020, 12:24 PM | Updated 12:24 PM IST
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In a major boost to the Rs 12,000 crore “Chardham” project, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) achieved a major milestone in the construction of a tunnel below the densely populated Chamba town on Rishikesh-Dharasu road (NH 94), the BRO said on Tuesday (26 May).
"Breakthrough and perfect linkup of construction teams from North & South Portals was accomplished amid challenges of COVID-19 and restrictions due to the nationwide lockdown. The construction of tunnel was a challenging task in terms of land acquisition, weak geology, continuous water seepage and dense built up area above the tunnel increasing the chances of sinking," the BRO said.
Calling BRO a key stakeholder in the prestigious Chardham project, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that breakthrough of this tunnel will go a long way in facilitating the speedy movement of the traffic.
He said the latest Austrian technology has been used in the construction of the Chamba tunnel.
Gadkari also congratulated Lt Gen Harpal Singh, DG Border Roads, and his team for completing crucial projects of national importance in two years.
The tunnel will be through for traffic by October 2020 almost three months before its scheduled date of completion of January 2021. The 6 km road and 450 metre tunnel is being constructed at a cost of Rs 88 crore, the BRO said.
BRO started work on North Portal of the tunnel in January 2019 but work on South Portal could commence only after October 2019 when issues concerning land compensation and safety of houses above the tunnel were resolved to the satisfaction of all stakeholders with active support from the state government, it said.
The loss in time was compensated by day and night working shifts along with use of modern technology and machines provided by M/s Bharat Construction, Dehradun, it added.
Under the ''Char Dham'' project costing about Rs 12,000 crore, BRO is constructing 250 km of National Highway leading to holy shrines of Gangotri and Badrinath.
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