Though there is nothing in risk to lives in the construction of tunnels on Jammu-Srinagar highway but timely safety measures could have hopefully averted the human tragedy witnessed last week when ten workers died in a tunnel collapse incident at Ramban. Taking a serious note of the death of ten workers in the tunnel collapse incident the Central Government has constituted a committee for a probe obviously to look into the breach in safety measures recommended by the concerned authorities before or during the construction of the tunnel. Not only the technical questions but even the working schedule for the construction of the tunnel may attract the attention of the inquiry team keeping in view the fact that tunnel collapsed after 10.00 P.M in the evening when the execution of relief and rescue operation was not only difficult but also impossible. A strong argument of the people that had the tunnel collapse incident occurred any time during the day the immediate execution of relief and rescue operation might have reduced the loss of precious human lives at the trouble spot. Never forget that local population would have come out for timely assistance to the rescue and relief operation on the trouble spot and possibly some lives could have been saved on the trouble spot.
Though relief and rescue operation teams with coordination and cooperation of district administration Ramban has taken them less than 50 hours in completing the entire relief and rescue operation which ended with the recovery of the bodies of all the ten workers killed in the incident but investigation has to focused on prompt remedial measures so that such human tragedies don’t reoccur in the completion of the remaining part of the Jammu-Srinagar four lanning highway project and repairs on different track vulnerable to landslides during rainy seasons and chilly months of winter in Kashmir .
Keeping in view the fact that people on Ramban-Banihal track are killed in dozens by landslides triggered by incessant rains during rainy seasons and chilly winter months the engineers of National Hiighway Authority Of India (NHAI) overseeing the execution of this high profile construction should have taken into view the threat of lives to workers by landslides which come down more heavily during the excavation of the mountains by the workers more in the day time and comparatively less during night. So the quality of the machinery used for blasting mountains and construction of the tunnel are also the issues demanding attention of investigation team as such issues could also be one of the causes of the incident.
Even the designs prepared for the construction tunnel is an issue which could be the cause of the incident and as such demands attention of the probing team sent to the area for investigating the cause of the tunnel collapse incident. Though relief and rescue operation teams with coordination and cooperation of district administration Ramban has taken them less than 50 hours in completing the entire relief and rescue operation which ended with the recovery of the bodies of all the ten workers killed in the incident but investigation has to focused on prompt remedial measures so that such human tragedies don’t reoccur in the completion of the remaining part of the Jammu-Srinagar four lanning highway project and repairs on different track vulnerable to landslides during rainy seasons and chilly months of winter in Kashmir .
