Nechiphu Tunnel, the Project Vartak dedicated to the Nation

Highlights:

• India's Border Road Organisation (BRO) has completed the excavation work of the Nechiphu Tunnel, in Arunachal Pradesh. 
• This tunnel is being built by BRO under Project Vartak. 

• The tunnel’s foundation stone was laid by Rajnath Singh on 12th October 2020.
• The Nechiphu Tunnel is located at an altitude of 5,700 feet. 
• This is a 500-metre-long tunnel that is “D-shaped” and will have a single tube double lane on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) Road, West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. 
• The tunnel will be equipped with modern safety facilities and modern lightning and will also accommodate two-way traffic. 
• The tunnel is being constructed to bypass extreme foggy conditions around the Nechiphu Pass due to which hindrances occur to military convoys and general traffic for decades. 
• The tunnel will have a state-of-the-art electro-mechanical system that includes: auto illumination system, firefighting devices and Monitoring systems that are controlled by Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA).
• The tunnel will also have raised footpaths on both of its sides for the safety of the pedestrians and will also have ducts for optical fibres, power cables, and utility lines so that the civic infrastructure amenities can be strengthened. 
• The tunnel has been constructed by the BRO after cutting through the fragile Himalayan mountains through the application of desired tunnel support system and 3D monitoring. 
• The BRO utilized the new Austrian tunnelling method (NATM) to achieve construction at a fast pace.