DEHRADUN: A 25-year-old worker from Jharkhand was killed after a section of the concrete lining collapsed inside the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, officials said.
The accident occurred while construction and maintenance work was under way inside the tunnel. According to police, a portion of the concrete lining suddenly broke loose and struck the worker on the neck, causing fatal injuries.
District Magistrate Prashant Arya has ordered an inquiry into the incident, with a focus on whether the construction agency complied with prescribed safety standards.
"A block of the tunnel's concrete (shotcrete) lining broke off and fell around 900 metres inside the tunnel from the Barkot side, resulting in the death of a worker. Unfortunately, the concrete block struck him directly on the neck," Arya told the TNIE.
The district administration and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) rushed to the site after receiving information about the accident. Officials assessed the situation and ensured the safety of other workers deployed inside the tunnel.
Taking serious note of the incident, Arya directed Barkot Sub-Divisional Magistrate Brijesh Tiwari to conduct a detailed inspection to determine the cause of the collapse and examine whether mandatory workplace and tunnel safety protocols had been followed.
The district administration has also instructed officials to complete all legal formalities and extend assistance to the victim's family. The company executing the tunnel project has informed the worker's relatives and asked them to travel to Uttarkashi.
The 4.5-km Silkyara-Polgaon tunnel is part of the Centre's Char Dham all-weather road project. The tunnel drew national attention in November 2023 when a landslide near the Silkyara portal trapped 41 workers inside for 17 days before they were rescued in a multi-agency operation.
Once completed, the tunnel is expected to improve connectivity in the Uttarkashi-Garhwal region and reduce the distance between the Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines by about 26 km.
