All Excavation Works On Sela Tunnel Project Concludes After BRO Conducts Final Blast

Itanagar: Director General Border Roads (DGBR), Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry conducted the final blast for the 980-metre long Sela Tunnel (Tunnel 1) through an online ceremony from New Delhi on 22 January.

The excavation works on the Sela Tunnel Project culminated with this final blast. The Border Roads Organization (BRO) achieved this incredible feat in the midst of harsh weather conditions and heavy snowfall.

The Sela Tunnel Project is located in Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng district. This crucial project will act as a lifeline for travellers to and from Tawang as it will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang after its completion.

The infrastructure project comprises two tunnels, namely Tunnel 1 and Tunnel 2. Tunnel 1 is a 980 m long single tube tunnel while Tunnel 2 is a 1555 m long twin-tube tunnel.

Tunnel 2 has one bi-lane tube for traffic and one escape tube for emergencies. This will also be one of the longest tunnels to have been constructed above an altitude of 13,000 feet.

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, connecting Tunnel 1 to Tunnel 2, is also included under this mega project.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Sela Tunnel Project back in 2019.

The excavation work on Tunnel 1 commenced on January 15 2021 after the first blast was conducted by the DGBR.

Thereafter, the breakthrough blast of the 1,555-meter Tunnel 2 was carried out by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh through an online ceremony from India gate on 14 October 2021, thereby marking the end of excavation on Tunnel 2.

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