2-lane Mehar-Cafeteria tunnel excavation work temporarily suspended

Ramban, Dec 18: The work on two-lane under construction Mehar-Cafeteria Morh tunnel in Ramban on the Udhampur-Ramban section of the four-lane project was temporarily suspended by the subcontractor company of NHAI after bulges and cracks appeared inside the tunnel.

Official sources said that a team from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and engineers of NHAI also visited Mehar and inspected the tunnel on Monday.

They said the Mehar-Cafeteria stretch on the Srinagar Jammu National Highway was prone to frequent landslides and shooting stones due to fragile geology. Keeping this in mind, the project was realigned and the work on a 780-meter two-lane tunnel was started in 2021.

They said the work on a two-lane cut and cover tunnel on the same alignment was also in progress.

Managers of the contractor company, DMR engaged by NHAI, for tunnel works on the Mehar-Cafeteria side informed that 400 meters of excavation work from the Mehar side was completed and the work was temporarily suspended a few days back after bulges, cracks appeared inside the tunnel.

They said that the work was immediately stopped as a precaution and all the machinery was removed from the tunnel. “The workers engaged in tunnel work were sent on leave and some were disengaged,” they said, adding that senior officers of NHAI in New Delhi were informed about the development.

They further said, “However, the work on an additional two-lane cut and cover tunnel on the same stretch is going on, round the clock.”

“The work on the C-shape- 740 meters two-lane tunnel was simultaneously started from both ends i.e., from Cafeteria Morh Ramban side and Mehar side, in the year 2021 but due to bad weather, frequent landslides, shooting stones hampered the progress of tunnel works,” officials said.

They said that the tunnel excavation work from Cafeteria Morh, Ramban side was completely stopped a few months back.

“A few months ago, a huge landslide caused massive damage to the tunnel from the Cafeteria side. Around 60 meters of tunnel at the Cafeteria side was damaged and the tunnel work was completely stopped then,” they said.

NHAI engineers said, “400 meters of tunnel excavation work from the Mehar end of the 780 meters C-Type two-lane Mehar-Cafeteria Morh tunnel on the Udhampur –Ramban section of the four-lane project was completed.”

“This tunnel work was started in 2021 after realignment between Nashri and Banihal to bypass the treacherous stretches including Mehar-Cafeteria and another vulnerable landslide and shooting stone-prone stretch near Ramban on the Udhampur-Ramban section of the four-lane project on the Srinagar Jammu National Highway,” they informed.

According to them, the tunnel work at other vulnerable places, except the Digdol-Maroog tunnel, is going on. The Mehar-Cafeteria tunnel is vital as several road accidents due to landslides and shooting stones were reported in past years on this stretch.

Traffic congestion due to single-lane roads and the breakdown of loaded vehicles on uneven surfaces on the Mehar-Cafeteria stretch are causing problems for commuters and vehicle operators.
Meanwhile, a team from the Geological Survey of India, along with engineers and Project Director NHAI visited the Mehar tunnel on Monday afternoon.

Project Director NHAI, PIU, Ramban said that the tunnel excavation work would be completed in December, 2024.