Silkyara to Sikkim

Big projects should never put workers’ lives at risk

Rescue teams are still trying to save workers trapped inside a tunnel in Sikkim after part of it collapsed following a methane gas explosion. The tunnel was being built for a hydroelectric power project on the Teesta River. At least 20 workers have died.

Sadly, this is not the first such accident. Just a few weeks earlier, a worker died after rocks fell inside the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand. And in 2023, the same Silkyara tunnel made headlines when dozens of workers were trapped for days before being rescued.

Whenever these accidents happen, the families of the workers are usually given compensation. But money cannot replace a life. The more important question is: Could these accidents have been prevented?

Building tunnels in the Himalayas is very difficult. The mountains are young and fragile, earthquakes are common, and dangerous methane gas can collect inside the rocks. Engineers have known about these risks for many years.

The good news is that there are also well-known safety rules. Workers can use special sensors to detect methane gas. Small holes can be drilled to let the gas escape before digging deeper. The air inside tunnels can be checked all the time to make sure it is safe. These are not new ideas—they have been used around the world for decades.

Investigators will now try to find out what went wrong in Sikkim. Did the safety rules fail? Or were they not followed properly?

India is building more tunnels than ever before for roads, railways and hydropower projects. These projects are important, but they should never come at the cost of workers’ lives.

Every worker deserves to return home safely at the end of the day. The real test of a great project is not just how fast it is finished, but how well it protects the people building it.

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