19 trapped in Pithoragarh NHPC power station tunnel after landslide, 8 rescued
The incident came nearly two years after a portion of Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district collapsed in November 2023, trapping 41 workers for 17 days
Dehradun/Pithoragarh: A landslide occurred on Saturday afternoon at the mouth of the tunnel of the underground Dhauliganga power station operated by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (NHPC) at Ailagad in Dharchula block of Pithoragarh district, blocking the entry point with a large amount of debris and boulders and leaving 19 personnel trapped inside.
At the time of writing the copy, eight personnel were rescued as boulders continued to fall from the hill.
Pithoragarh district magistrate (DM) Vinod Goswami said the district administration, aided by Border Roads Organisation (BRO), swiftly launched relief and rescue operations on a war footing after the incident.
“The debris has been removed from the tunnel mouth and the emergency shaft area is also being continuously cleared. So far, eight personnel have been safely evacuated while 11 others remain trapped but are safe and in constant touch with the authorities,” he said.
Teams of the district administration, BRO, NHPC, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and other agencies are engaged in rescue efforts, he said.
Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Dharchula Jitendra Verma clarified that contrary to misleading reports circulating in a section of the media regarding the Dhauliganga power station, there has been no major damage to the power house. He said debris continues to fall intermittently at the main tunnel entrance, but it is being cleared regularly by the BRO. “Adequate machinery and personnel, including CISF and NDRF teams, are deployed on site,” he said. Verma also confirmed that kitchen and food arrangements are available inside the tunnel.
Those rescued include operation contract staffer Chander Sonal, DG operator Shankar Singh and sub-station staff member Puran Bisht. Maintenance employees Naveen Kumar, Prem Dugtal, Dhan Raj Bahadur and Gagan Singh Dhami, along with civil staffer PC Verma, were also brought out safely. Those trapped inside include operation staffers Lalit Mohan Bisht, Suraj Gurdani and Vishnu Gupta, as well as operation contract staffers Jitendra Sonal, Prakash Dugtal, Kamlesh Dhami and Sunil Dhami. Among the senior staff, G Augustine Babu and Apurba Rai are also inside, along with contract maintenance employee Inder Gunjiyal and canteen worker Bishan Dhami.
“There is a highway in front of the tunnel, and due to its widening work, the hill had become slightly destabilised. Amid continuous rainfall, a landslide occurred at the tunnel portal around 1.30 pm on Saturday, which led to its blockage.. movement came to a halt as boulders kept falling continuously,” said M Kannan, group general manager and head of the Dhauliganga power station. He added that an emergency exit tunnel was also blocked due to the landslide and suffered damage.
“We have managed to evacuate eight people so far, and efforts are on to bring out the remaining personnel. There is a rest room, food items inside and resources to deal with emergency circumstances such as this. All are safe. The BRO has deployed heavy machinery and we are hopeful that the passage will be cleared soon. We will replace them with officials and workers from the replacement shift,” Kannan said.
Dhauliganga Power Station (4x70 megawatt) is a run of the river scheme with small pondage to harness the hydro power potential of Dhauliganga river. The power station was commissioned in 2005.
The incident came nearly two years after a portion of Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district collapsed in November 2023, trapping 41 workers for 17 days. In the early hours of November 12, a part of the 4.5-km-long tunnel being built between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway — part of the Char Dham road project — caved in following a landslide, trapping 41 workers from various parts of the country. In the rescue operation that was marred by frequent hurdles, the 12-member rat-hole miners’ team was roped in by authorities in a last-ditch attempt to clear the final 12 metres of the 57m-thick wall of debris that trapped the 41 workers for 17 days. Armed only with shovels, spades, hammers and drills, these 12 men worked for nearly 24 hours without a break to get the job done, even when modern US-made auger machines had failed. Before the collapse, the excavation of the tunnel on the Barkot side was remaining.
