Tunnels to saftety from landslides in NE

Aizawl, Jul 31 (UNI) South Assam, Tripura and Mizoram's lone link with the rest of the country, National Highway 44, and other parts of interior areas across NE will soon have a tunnel as a bypass that is prone to landslides during monsoon season.

The Border Roads Organisaion(BRO) has been entrusted with the task of constructing the safety tunnels by the Union Road Transport and National Highways Ministry.

Currently, BRO is examining all alternatives, especially to the stretch of NH on the Meghalaya-Assam border near Cachar district, and opted for a high-tech tunnel at this vulnerable road point for ensuring traffic flow in all seasons, BRO chief engineer K K Y Mahindrakar told UNI here today.

Apart from this BRO would conduct surveys on the proposed Aizawl-Lunglei double lane road on NH 54 for constructing these tunnels, he added.

The hills, especially in these areas, are vulnerable to mudslips during torential rain, he said adding these are prone to heavy landslides every monsoon.

He also pointed out that especially during the monsoon period, Border Road Taskforce, which maintains these national highways, as a temporary relief measure, was already engaged in constructing water chute to block the flow of water surging down the hill slopes.

However, the novel techique is found to be unreliable for the long term, he added.

UNI SNR PL RD 1322