Assam CM pronounces rail-road tunnel beneath Brahmaputra river

A tunnel beneath the mighty Brahmaputra River will lastly develop into a actuality, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma introduced on Friday. He mentioned that the centre has authorized the undertaking, and tenders will probably be invited to arrange DPR for the undertaking quickly. He knowledgeable {that a} tunnel will probably be constructed beneath the Brahmaputra at an estimated value of ₹6000 crore.

Addressing a public rally at Biswanath Chariali in Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma mentioned he thought {that a} tunnel beneath the river was only a dream, and it’ll not develop into a actuality. But he was shocked throughout a latest go to to Delhi, the place the union govt informed him that the undertaking has been greenlighted. He mentioned that after a lot deliberation, it was determined that the tunnel will probably be constructed between Gohpur on the north financial institution and Numaligarh within the south financial institution. It will probably be a street cum rail tunnel.

Assam CM mentioned that the primary tenders for Detailed Project Report (DPR) will probably be opened on 4th July. ‘If everything goes as planned, we may be able to start the construction during the current tenure of my govt,’ he mentioned. Sarma additional mentioned that PM Narendra Modi has already signed a file to attach the north and south banks of Brahmaputra by a tunnel. The tunnel will join NH 15 on the north with NH 715 on the south.

Coming quickly – Assam’s first underwater tunnel pic.twitter.com/4jmOTSBLhe

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 24, 2023

The centre has entrusted NHIDCL (National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.) with the undertaking. The NHIDCL has floated tenders to arrange DPR and can begin pre-construction actions for the development of the tunnel quickly. 4-lane method roads on each ends of the tunnel are a part of the undertaking.

Tunnel Boring Machine will probably be deployed for the principle tunnel beneath the river, whereas the open lower and canopy methodology will probably be used for the sections of the tunnels on each ends. The size of the principle tunnel will probably be 11.4 km, with a complete size of round 15 km.

Artificial islands are additionally proposed on the northern and southern sides of the river Brahmaputra, and the development zone will probably be created inside the islands to facilitate the development of the tunnel and likewise throughout the operational part. The islands will act as bunds to forestall flood water from coming into the tunnels.

NHIDCL has already ready a Pre-Feasibility Report for the tunnel undertaking. However, the report is just for a two-lane street tunnel and doesn’t point out a rail tunnel. Therefore, important adjustments within the DPR is predicted from this report.

At current, there are six bridges over the Brahmaputra, which embody twin bridges at Guwahati and Tezpur. Three extra bridges at Dhubri, Guwahati and Majuli are beneath development. Construction of two extra bridges in Guwahati, on its japanese and western ends, will begin quickly, and Railway will construct two bridges at Guwahati and Tezpur. Several different bridges are beneath the pipeline connecting the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra river throughout the state.

However, the bridges are seen as susceptible in case of a battle or main terrorist actions within the area, and the safety institution was contemplating a tunnel as an alternate route. Connectivity throughout the Brahmaputra is important for the defence of the frontline on the border with China, and a tunnel is taken into account rather more safe in comparison with a bridge over the river.

According to earlier studies, there will probably be three separate tunnels, one for street, the second for rail, and the third one for emergency use together with army transport. The tunnels, together with the 11.4 km lengthy primary tunnels, will probably be round 15 km lengthy and will probably be round 32 meters beneath the riverbed.

The proposal for a tunnel was initially floated by the Border Roads Organization (BRO), contemplating its strategic significance. BRO began surveys for the undertaking in 2014 and chosen two websites, Tezpur-Nagaon and Gohpur-Numaligarh. In 2020, the centre gave in-principle approval for the undertaking, after which detailed research have been carried out, together with an airborne electromagnetic survey.

Initially, the Tezpur web site was favoured, because the river is narrower there, and Tezpur is dwelling to the headquarters of the GOC 4 Corps of the Indian Army. However, later the Gohpur-Numaligarh location was chosen.

There are already two street bridges over the Brahmaputra at Tezpur, and a Railway bridge has been deliberate. That may very well be the explanation for not choosing the positioning as each banks of the river are already properly linked there. With the tunnel coming, the plan for a bridge between Gohpur and Numaligarh will probably be scrapped. In truth, the undertaking was delayed as a result of the centre was deliberating between the tunnel and the bridge, which might have been a less expensive possibility. The tunnel was authorized after a number of cabinet ministers supported the plan, contemplating its strategic significance.

The undertaking will probably be undertaken beneath the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP-NE) of the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.