How Border Roads Organisation Aided The Himalayan Rescue Op

Given its tunneling experience, the BRO was also instrumental in giving valuable inputs when rescue options were being evaluated.

The much-awaited breakthrough and the rescue of the 41 workers trapped in the Silkiyara Tunnel since November 12 has moved the focus back on the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) - the resilient force behind the Himalayan operation.

The Silkiyara Tunnel, which is being built by the NHIDCL on the Yamunotri National Highway connecting Silkiyara to Barkot, collapsed between chainage 206 m at the Silkiyara end and spread to chainage 260 m towards the Barkot end. "Soon after the collapse, the BRO was mobilised to assist the central and the state government agencies in the rescue. Project Shivalik of BRO was employed to assist in various tasks in support of the rescue operations," the BRO said in a statement.

This 4531 m long tunnel will shorten the road distance by 26 Km & 45 minutes of travel time. The tunnel is designed as a single tube tunnel with two lanes divided by a vertical partition wall. The tunnel is being constructed in extremely weak rock mass constituting meta-siltstone and phyllites. The 15 m diameter of the tunnel makes its construction technically intricate.