CHANDIGARH: Residents of the Sehsola village in Haryana’s Nuh district on Monday have demanded an immediate halt to tunnelling and blasting after soil caved in over an area of about 20 metres at an under-construction twin tunnel that is part of the Rs 5,618-crore Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC).
The incident narrowly averted a major accident and triggered a heated exchange on Monday between villagers, officials and representatives of the construction company. The villagers have also demanded an independent technical probe and compensation.
Residents submitted a written complaint to the Nuh Deputy Commissioner, alleging that safety norms were being violated at the tunnel site. They claimed there was inadequate support to hold back the soil, a lack of safety equipment and warning boards, and that blasting was being carried out day and night without prior notice.
Sources said the subsidence occurred in a field in the Patuka area of Sehsola, in Taoru subdivision. No farmers or children were in the field at the time, although villagers claimed a tractor-trolley had passed through the spot shortly before the incident. They said they would not allow work to resume without assurances on safety and compensation for the losses.
Railway and construction company officials who visited the site said the affected area was a side portion of the works. They said a technical inspection would be carried out, the sunken portion filled, and warning boards and barricades installed.
The 4.69-km twin tunnel is a major component of the 126-km HORC line, which is designed to carry double-stack container trains through the Aravalli foothills.
Around 1.1 km of the tunnel is being cut through Aravalli rock and about 3.6 km through soil. Each tube will be 30 feet high and 30 feet wide and designed for passenger trains travelling at up to 160 km per hour and freight trains at 100 km per hour.
Roughly Rs 1,200 crore of the corridor’s total cost has been earmarked for the tunnel.
Technical briefs have previously highlighted the risks of drilling in the terrain because of “low cover or overburden”, non-cohesive soil and heavily fractured rock strata.
The residents alleged that the deep pit posed a threat to children, livestock and wildlife and had damaged crops. They claimed officials had been warned earlier but had failed to act. A dispute over compensation for land acquisition is also pending in court.
The locals further alleged that the subsidence had damaged farmland and caused cracks in houses and foundations, posing a threat to life. They sought a committee comprising officials from the district administration, Revenue and PWD departments, an independent geotechnical expert and HORC representatives to determine whether faulty design, inadequate soil investigation or insufficient support was responsible.
According to the villagers, the tunnel passes through Sehsola, Ghuspaithi, Patuka, Kiruri and Dhulawat. Local police reached the spot soon after the incident, while company officials arrived nearly 24 hours later, they claimed.
Nuh Deputy Commissioner Akhil Pilani said the matter had come to his notice, an inquiry would be ordered and the officials concerned had been informed.