Srinagar: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has temporarily suspended the work on a tunnel in Pr Panchal region’s Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir after the tunnel developed cracks from within, The Indian Express reported.
The tunnel is being built to bypass the landslide-prone areas in Mehar area of the district and also to reduce the distance between Jammu and Srinagar.
It is pertinent to mention that the Government of India has spared no effort to minimize the distance between Jammu and Srinagar through the establishment of rail links and the construction of the world’s highest bridge in Chenab.
A senior NHAI officer said that the tunnel had been experiencing pressure for the past few days that resulted in the appearance of cracks.
“Our engineers are examining it and the work has been suspended as a precautionary measure. All the men and machinery have been removed from inside the tunnel,” he said.
The work on the tunnel at Mehar was started nearly one-and-a-half years ago simultaneously at two portals (P1 and P2).
It is one of the three tunnels ranging from 400m – 800 m in length being built as part of the realignment of the national highway between Ramban and Banihal to bypass landslide-prone stretches.
