Border Roads Organisation (BRO) which builds roads and bridges conducted the final blast for the 980-meter long Sela Tunnel (Tunnel 1) at 3,000 meters which will ensure all-weather connectivity between Guwahati in Assam and Tawang in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
The ceremony was done under the command of the Director-General of Border Roads (DGBR), Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry through an e-ceremony from New Delhi on Saturday (22 January).
The Sela Tunnel is an important project and the event marks the culmination of the excavation works on the complete Sela Tunnel Project achieved by BRO amidst inclement weather and heavy snowfall.
The Sela Tunnel Project is located in the West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh and once completed, it will be a lifeline to provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang.
The project comprises Tunnel 1, a 980 m long single tube tunnel, and Tunnel 2, a 1,555 m long twin-tube tunnel.
Tunnel 2 has one bi-lane tube for traffic and one escape tube for emergencies and is considered an engineering marvel as it is the longest tunnel constructed above 13,000 feet. T
The project also includes the construction of an approach road of seven kilometres to Tunnel 1, which takes off from BCT Road and a link road of 1.3 kilometres, which connects Tunnel 1 to Tunnel 2.
In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Sela Tunnel Project, and on 15 January 2021, after the DGBR conducted the first blast, excavation on Tunnel 1 commenced.
In an e-ceremony held from the India Gate on 14 October 2021, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh carried out the breakthrough blast of the 1,555-metre Tunnel 2, marking the end of excavation on Tunnel 2.
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