Silkyara To Sikkim
Methane gas build-up is a known hazard. Did SOP fail the workers?
Rescue ops, risky by themselves given toxic gases, continue to try and save miners trapped in a tunnel that was under construction, part of the Teesta Stage VI hydropower project, when it collapsed on July 20, after a methane gas explosion. At least 20 are dead. On July 5, in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara-Barkot tunnel, a worker was killed by a rockfall inside the under-construction tunnel. The concern here is not about accountability – which is often reduced to a bundle of compensation for the family of the invariably poor migrant worker. With every such worker accident, questions are raised about geological homework done, precautions taken, and what should have been done. And that is where the rub is. The real concern is over a certain embedded casualness towards the cost to life, and environment. The Himalayas are being tunnelled like seldom before: for hydel projects, roads, rail tracks. Engineering hazards of constructing in the Himalayas are well-established – geologically fragile with high seismic activity and known methane pockets. Despite this, engineering marvels have been created for decades, planned meticulously, years in the making.
So, it becomes difficult to excuse the mishap in Sikkim – methane gas explosion is a known risk, and methods to mitigate have existed for as long as tunnelling has. Tracking presence of methane, drainage boreholes etc to extract the deadly gas, before cutting through rock, and constant monitoring to ensure worker safety, are decades-old SOPs. The probe team will no doubt find where protocol failed. The accident happened just three years after the Silkyara tunnel collapse in 2023. Work continues there, as evident in the July 5 accident, as it will for NHPC’s hydel project. There appears to be an uptick in construction accidents across sectors – manufacturing to mining. Question is, what is the value assigned to safety of workers in such mega projects? And are we cutting corners?
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
