Kullu: The long-pending Jalori Jot tunnel project in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh may finally see the light of day as the ministry of road transport and highways is set to decide the tunnel alignment.
According to the officials of the national highway wing of the public works department, which is overseeing the project, the department has submitted its study report on the proposed tunnel alignments to the ministry.
In the study report sent to the ministry, the department has chosen five out of the total nine alignments while rejecting four. The five alignments selected by the department also include Alternative-4, which is suggested by the residents of Shoja village located near Jalori Jot, a high mountain pass located at an altitude of 3,120 meters. Shoja residents have also been opposing Alternative-2, an alignment they believe if approved, would threaten the village’s existence as the tunnel would then be dug and built right under their place of living.
“The five alignments were selected after conducting a thorough study and weighing all pros and cons, including safety, length of tunnel, expenditure, etc. We have sent the alignments to the ministry, which is expected to finalise the one alignment in near future. It’s a priority project. We are expecting the decision this month only. Once the alignment is finalised, the project will start on ground,” said K L Suman, executive engineer, national highway circle, Rampur.
“We have also incorporated in our report to the ministry the concerns and views of Shoja villagers and also the tunnel alignment suggested by them. The tunnel will not be built by endangering anyone’s safety,” said Suman, adding that there was no threat to the Shoja village from the project.
“As far as Shoja is concerned, our studies show that there is no threat to the village from the proposed tunnel. Even if a tunnel is built below the Shoja village, it will be 500 metres beneath. In some other alignment, a tunnel is proposed as close as 30 metres beneath a village, but it is still safe,” said Suman.
In July this year, over 200 Shoja residents had unanimously rejected Alternative-2 alignment, which they said would put the whole village at risk. They feared that if implemented, the tunnel would go right beneath the village. The residents have been demanding that Alternative-4, which they believe is the safest alignment, should be implanted.
The Alternative-4 was finalised by a consultant company in a detailed project report (DPR) in 2018 after studying five different alignments. However, Altinok Consulting Engineering Inc – the consultant company hired by the ministry of road transport and highways in Dec 2022 – later started zeroing in on Alternative-2 alignment after replacing Alternative-4. Under Alternative-4, the tunnel will have a length of 4.2 km with its north portal in Ghiyagi village near Shoja on the Banjar side and south portal in Khanag village on the other side of Jalori Jot towards Anni.
According to the 2018 DPR, the Alternative-4 is most feasible due to the stable rocky portion and geologically suitable terrain of the area.
The construction of Jalori tunnel on Aut-Luhri national highway-305 has been a long pending demand of the residents of the area, especially those from the Anni and Nirmand sub-divisions, which gets disconnected from district headquarters Kullu during winters due to heavy snowfall.
The Ghiyagi-Jalori-Khanag stretch, where the tunnel’s north and south portals have been proposed, remains blocked for days in winters and if the project is implemented it will provide an all-weather connectivity between Kullu and Anni, Nirmand and up to Shimla, directly benefiting people of around 69 panchayats.
The tunnel is proposed to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 990 crore.