Kota (Rajasthan), Aug 12 (PTI) Heavy rainfall over the past two days triggered waterlogging and seepage inside India’s first eight-lane road tunnel running beneath the Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve here, causing traffic congestion and inconvenience to commuters, with an NHAI official on Wednesday acknowledging shortcomings in the pre-assessment of its design.
The 4.9-kilometre-long Mukundra Hills Tunnel forms a crucial link in the 1,386-km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which is being built at Rs 95,000 crore.
The tunnel, part of the Delhi-Vadodara section, was officially opened on a trial basis for all vehicles on July 27.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Project Director in Kota, Sandeep Agrawal, attributed the inadequate pumping capacity as the primary reason for the waterlogging and seepage problem.
“The quantum of seepage water coming in is quite high, and the pumping capacity we had installed was insufficient. We are currently enhancing that capacity. This is the first rainy season since the tunnel’s completion. During construction, the contractor’s design assessment was applied, but it has proven inadequate for these conditions,” Agrawal told PTI.
“The current installed capacity across the tunnel is 260 HP (horsepower), with an additional 130 HP on standby. To handle the influx, we are deploying additional pumps to extract the accumulated water,” he added.
He said the original design assessment proved insufficient in terms of pump capacity during extreme weather conditions, describing it as a technical issue that will be rectified with higher-capacity equipment.
Vinod Samaria, Station House Officer (SHO) at Mandana police station, where the tunnel opens from Kota, said that efforts are underway to clear the water and manage traffic, which was severely impacted for over one and a half hours.
“We are actively using pumps to drain out water inside the tunnel. Engineers are on-site working to clear it as quickly as possible,” Samaria said.
Rajendra Meena, the SHO at Modak police station, where the tunnel ends towards Jhalawar, said additional police personnel have been deployed to manage traffic.
“Vehicles are being allowed one by one to keep the traffic moving. Water has not flooded the entire 4.9 km length; rather, about 1 to 2 feet of water has accumulated heavily at over a kilometre-long stretch in the middle. The heavy ongoing rains have increased the seepage from the forest above,” Meena said.
According to NHAI officials, the tunnel, costing around 12.50 crore, was built beneath the tiger reserve to avoid disturbing wildlife movement and preserve the forest ecosystem.
The design allows animals to move freely above the structure without interference from highway traffic, serving as a prominent national example of integrating transport infrastructure with environmental conservation. PTI COR KSI KSI
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