Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel
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Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel, also known as Chenani-Nashri Tunnel is a
road tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located in the Lower Himalayas, on
National Highway 44 The following highways are numbered 44. Australia * Great Western Highway, Parramatta Road (Sydney) * Captain Cook Highway - Queensland State Route 44 (Regional) * Greensborough Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 44 * Manitoba Highway 44 * On ...
. Construction started in 2011 and was completed by 2017. It is India's longest road tunnel with a length of , and the country's first tunnel with a fully integrated tunnel control system. It reduces the distance between
Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
and Srinagar by 30 km and travel time by two hours. The all-weather tunnel bypasses snowfall and avalanche prone areas in winter at places like Patnitop, Kud, and Batote that obstruct NH 44 every winter and cause long queues of vehicles – sometimes for days on end. It is named after
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Syama Prasad Mukherjee (6 July 1901 – 23 June 1953) was an Indian politician, barrister and academician, who served as India's first Minister for Industry and Supply (currently known as Ministry of Commerce and Industry) in Jawaharlal Nehru' ...
, who served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet and later founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.


Location

The tunnel is located on the lower Himalayan range at an altitude of . The southern portal (end) of the tunnel is at and the northern portal (end) of the tunnel is at coordinates . The tunnel has been excavated starting from about from Chenani town south of Patnitop to Nashri village north of Patnitop.


Construction

The foundation was laid for the project in July 2011 by the then Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister
Omar Abdullah Omar Abdullah (; born 10 March 1970) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. He became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, after forming a governme ...
with Union Health Minister
Ghulam Nabi Azad Ghulam Nabi Azad (born 7 March 1949) is an Indian politician who served as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha between 2014 to 2021. He also served as the Chief Minister of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2005 to 2008. On 26 September ...
, under the ruling UPA government. However the project stalled for the next few year and saw wide fluctuations in estimates with funding difficulties. The original estimate to build this two-lane tunnel was , but escalated to a total of . The scheduled date of completion for the project was May 2016. Later, due to a dispute between the construction workers and the executing agency, the work was delayed and the next planned date was then further extended to July 2016. On 12 October 2016, it was reported that almost all the work had been completed due to pressure from Modi's office and the remaining work was planned to be finished in a few days and that "''98 percent civil work including construction of 9 km tunnel and its approach road has been completed while the installation of equipment and gadgets like sound diffusers, ventilators, fans, firefighter equipment, electrical panels, transformers, lighting etc. inside the tunnel is under progress and likely to be completed in next 20–30 days.''" They added that after the completion of remaining work, it has to pass the quality and commuters’ safety tests, and that the entire process would be completed by last week of November and authorities will inaugurate the "ambitious" project in the first week of December. However on 3 February 2017, official sources said that the project was getting delayed due to bad weather conditions and snowfall on the highway, which snapped the electricity supply to the area and so the executing agency was unable to continue with the required testing and inspection processes. According to a news article on 1 March 2017, the Independent Engineers (IEs) reported that the demonetisation on 8 November 2016 resulted in work getting affected as the contractors failed to pay the labour involved in the work. The Construction Company's Executive, Shafaq Syed also confirmed, "''Demonetisation crippled our working. We were unable to make payments to our subcontractors.''." The tunnel was inaugurated by the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
on 2 April 2017. The construction involved nearly 1,500 engineers, geologists and labourers, besides skilled workers. The
National Highways Authority of India The National Highways Authority of India or NHAI (Hindi: भारतीय राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग प्राधिकरण) is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1995 (Act 1988) and i ...
has spent ₹3,720 crore on the project.


Features and benefits

Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel comprises two tubes that run parallel to each other — the main traffic tunnel of diameter 13 m and a separate safety or escape tunnel of diameter 6 m alongside. The two tubes — each approximately 9 km long — are connected by 29 cross passages at regular intervals of every 300 metres along the entire length of the tunnel. These passages add up to about 1 km of tunnel length, and the main and escape tubes, plus the cross passages make up about 19 km of tunnel length. Since such a long tunnel could present the problem of a lack of oxygen, to ensure that there is no excessive carbon-dioxide build-up inside, there are several exhaust metres that will check the air all through the length of the tunnel. With inlets, every 8 metres, bringing fresh air into the main tube, and exhaust outlets every 100 m opening into the escape tube, the tunnel is the country’s first — and the world’s sixth — road tunnel with a transverse ventilation system. Transverse ventilation will keep tailpipe smoke inside the tunnel at a minimum level in order to prevent suffocation and keep visibility at acceptable levels, especially since the tunnel is so long. The 29 cross passages between the two tunnels will be used to evacuate, through the escape tunnel, a user who might be in distress or to tow away any vehicle that might have broken down in the main tunnel. A total of 124 cameras and a linear heat detection system inside the tunnel will alert the Integrated Tunnel Control Room (ITCR) located outside the tunnel to the need for intervention. In the case of a traffic violation, the Control Room informs the traffic police deployed outside the tunnel, who shall impose a fine on errant drivers on the spot. SOS boxes installed every 150 m will act as emergency hotlines for commuters in distress. To connect to the ITCR to seek help, one would only need to open the door of the SOS box and say ‘Hello’, said an executive of the project. Commuters can use their mobile phones inside the tunnel. To prevent diminution of vision as a result of change in the light while going in or coming out of the tunnel, the lighting inside has been adjusted at a gradient of luminous strength. The tunnel is built with fire safety measures. As soon as sensors detect fire, a safety protocol will kick in, and the pushing of fresh air will stop and only exhausts will function. Longitudinal exhaust fans installed at regular intervals will concentrate on 300 m on either side of the fire, pushing the smoke upward. Ambulances or vehicles carrying foam will rush through the escape tunnel to evacuate commuters and fight the fire. The heat detection system inside the tunnel will record rises in temperature in the tunnel — the result of excessive emissions which may be caused by one or more vehicles. In such cases, the ITCR will get in touch with staff inside the tunnel, and the offending vehicle will be pulled over into a lay-by and subsequently removed by a crane through the parallel escape tunnel. The tunnel is located at an altitude of nearly 4,000 feet in difficult Himalayan terrain. Despite having been excavated in such geographic conditions, both tubes are completely waterproof. Because of this two-lane tunnel, the distance between Chenani and Nashri and hence between Jammu and Srinagar is reduced by 30 km and travel time is cut by two hours. The tunnel bypasses 44 avalanche and landslide-prone spots on the highway. It is an "all-weather" tunnel and enables an increase in trade and tourism in the state. The tunnel also has parking spots in case of vehicle breakdowns.


See also

* Jawahar Tunnel *
Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel is a road tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located in the Lower Himalayas, on National Highway 44. Its Construction started in 2011 and was completed in 2021. It is one of the longest tunnel in India, wi ...
*
Nandni tunnels Nandni tunnels are the series of four highway tunnels built inside the Nandni Wildlife Sanctuary on NH44 Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Jammu and Kashmir in India. Built between Jammu and Udhampur cities with a combined length of 1.4  ...
*
Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel The Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel or Qazigund railway tunnel is an long railway tunnel located in Pir Panjal Range of middle Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, India, south of Qazigund town. It is a part of the ...
*
Zoji-la Tunnel Zoji La Tunnel is an under-construction 9.5 m wide, 7.57 m high and 14.2 km long, horseshoe-shaped single-tube, 2 lane road tunnel at the height of 11,575 feet (3,528 m) above sea level which passes under the Zoji La pass in the Himalayas ...
*
Z-Morh Tunnel The Z-Morh Tunnel is an under-construction 6.5 km long 2-lane road tunnel between Gagangair and Sonamarg in Ganderbal district of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in India. It is named after the H ...
*
Atal Tunnel Atal Tunnel (also known as Rohtang Tunnel), named after former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a highway tunnel built under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas on the Leh-Manali Highway in Himach ...
* Chattergala Tunnel


References


Further reading

* {{cite journal, author1=M. Palomba, author2=G. Russo, author3=F. Amadini, author4=G. Carrieri, author5=A.R. Jain, title=Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, the longest road tunnel in India: a challenging case for design-optimization during construction, journal=World Tunnel Congress 2013 Geneva, url=http://www.webalice.it/giordandue/chenani%20mpl.pdf, language=en-gb Road tunnels in Jammu and Kashmir Tunnels completed in 2017 Ramban district Udhampur district 2017 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir