Pipalkoti tunnel tragedy: Congress questions oversight of reported leak

DEHRADUN: The death toll in the Pipalkoti tunnel accident in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district rose to eight on Saturday, with two workers still trapped and rescue operations continuing. The under-construction THDC tunnel was flooded by a massive surge of water, triggering political criticism over the handling of the incident.

Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal questioned how a reported leak at the site was allegedly overlooked, saying workers had claimed the issue persisted for some time before the accident.

"When I spoke to the injured, I learned that a leak had been occurring for quite some time at the very spot where the incident took place. How this was overlooked or why there was such apathy towards it is a matter for further investigation," Godiyal said.

Godiyal also criticised the compensation announced for the victims' families. "The chief minister announced compensation of Rs four lakh, though I believe that amount is not sufficient," he said. He added that NTPC had provided Rs one lakh, but that was also inadequate.

Congress leader Harikrishna Bhatt echoed these concerns, stating that a human life cannot be valued at merely Rs 4 lakh. He called for safety audits across all ongoing infrastructure projects in the state.

"Safety audits should have been conducted for all such ongoing projects. The entire population of Uttarakhand is bearing the brunt of these disasters which are man-made. There is a need for a thorough analysis to determine what actual interests the people of Uttarakhand have in these large-scale projects," Bhatt said.

Rescue teams, including the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, District Disaster Response Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, are working to reach the two trapped workers. Operations have been complicated by water and accumulated sludge inside the tunnel, restricting movement.

THDC India Limited executive director Ajay Verma said the massive inflow of water appeared to have originated from a pre-existing natural cavity. "Regarding the leakage and the massive influx of water in the tunnel, it appears there was a pre-existing natural cavity. During the rainy season, this cavity filled with water. The volume was so great that it found a weak point, specifically where we were excavating the tunnel from below, leading to the leakage," Verma said.

He described the scale of flooding as unprecedented for a hydro-tunnel project. "The inflow consists mostly of water, with very little debris. Historically, such a massive influx of water, enough to fill the tunnel for a stretch of 1.2 kilometres, is unprecedented in hydro-tunnel projects. This level of leakage is highly unusual and unexpected. It is a matter requiring investigation," he added.

Verma said authorities had lowered the water level by around 1.5 metres and were continuously increasing the number of pumps in operation.