Uttarakhand tunnel incident spotlights safety in existing, future projects
“With the current option, it may be 24 hours (timeline for a breakthrough),” says Chris Cooper from engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T), hazarding a guess provided the current solution of “augering” (a form of drilling) works out.
L&T is one of the Indian companies that have now joined the rescue efforts in Silkyara, Uttarkashi, voluntarily. If the augering fails, “it is going to be a major problem”, says Cooper, who is team leader-tunnels, heavy civil infrastructure, L&T Construction. “If it stops or disrupts, then option B is the micro-tunnel, which will take 20 days,” he adds.
