BRO conducts final blast of Arunachal Pradesh’s Nechiphu tunnel to mark completion of excavation work

The Border Road Organisation (BRO) conducted a final blast of Arunachal Pradesh’s Nechiphu tunnel to mark the completion of excavation work.

The Border Road Organisation (BRO) conducted a final breakthrough blast on Friday to mark the successful completion of excavation work of Arunachal Pradesh’s Nechiphu Tunnel. The blast was remotely conducted by the director general of BRO, Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry from Delhi.

The Nechiphu tunnel, at an altitude of 5,700 feet, is a unique 500-metre-long “D-shaped, single tube, double lane tunnel” on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road in West Kameng district. The tunnel has been conceived to bypass the extreme foggy conditions prevailing around Nechiphu Pass which have been causing hindrance to general traffic and military convoys for several decades.

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The tunnel will accommodate two-way traffic and will be equipped with modern lighting and safety facilities. It will be provided with a state-of-the-art electro-mechanical system including fire fighting devices, an auto illumination system and monitoring systems. It will also accommodate raised footpaths on both sides for safer pedestrian movement.

Earlier on January 22, the BRO completed the excavation work on another strategic tunnel, the twin tube of the ‘Sela Tunnel project’ on the same road. Friday’s blast marked the cumulative excavation of more than 4,500 metres achieved by the BRO in less than two years.

Once in service, the Nechiphu tunnel along with the Sela tunnel will provide safe, all weather strategic connectivity on the BCT Road while reducing the carbon footprint in this eco-sensitive area.

The foundation stone of the Nechiphu tunnel project was laid by defence minister Rajnath Singh on October 12 2020.