Tansen, July 26: Only 15 per cent of work has been completed in the Siddhababa tunnel along the Butwal-Palpa road section in 18 months. Work on the tunnel was initially affected due to delays in its design and external preparations. However, the construction work has accelerated in the past six months.
According to Sabita Gyawali, information officer at the Tunnel Project, they had a plan to construct 1,123 metres of tunnel within five years. However, only 316 metres of tunnel has been dug in 18 months. She said that 142 metres have been excavated from the northern side and 174 meters from the southern side.
The Siddhababa tunnel will have three emergency bypass tunnels. Of these, the first bypass will be 151 metres long, of which 68 metres have been completed. Similarly, 64 metres of 161 metres of the second bypass and 62 metres of 130 metres of the third bypass have been dug.
Additionally, ‘rock shed’ work is being done to prevent landslides from above. The plan is to build the tunnel in the highly risky areas of the Siddhartha Highway and widen the road and construct rock sheds in other risky sections. Work is also progressing rapidly in these areas, Gyawali said.
The head of the project office in Butwal, Rampukar Jaiswal, said that of the 2,300 square metres of protection work required on the southern portal, 1,495 square metres had been completed. On the northern portal, 495 square metres of the required 1,100 square meters of protection work had been completed.
The construction work of this project is being carried out by the Chinese company-- China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). The project includes the construction of a double-lane, slope-protected structure on a 780-metre stretch on both Butwal and Palpa sides, totalling 2.59 kilometres of physical infrastructure.
According to the project agreement, the estimated cost of the project is Rs. 7.3421 billion. While the tunnel construction is expected to achieve a breakthrough soon, it is said that additional time will be needed for the construction of other structures.
Once the tunnel is completed, travellers using this road are expected to be free from the risk of landslides and falling rocks. Many people have lost their lives due to landslides and falling rocks in the Siddhababa area.
