Sela tunnel has been constructed using New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) which is widely accepted and used in construction of tunnels worldwide especially for Himalayan geology. It is based on the philosophy of “Build As You Go” and involves using the inherent strength of the surrounding rock mass to support the tunnel. The execution of this mega project took over 90 lakh man-hours with an average of around 650 personnel and labourers working every day for the last five years. The enormity of the task could be judged by the quantity of 71,000 metric tons of cement, 5000 metric tons of steel and 800 metric tons of explosive that was used for construction. A total of 162 plants and machinery were dedicated to the construction of this tunnel.Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for the Sela tunnel project on Feb 9, 2019. Tawang town is inhabited by more than 50,000 people, called Little Tibet by China. It is one of the contentious areas which China claims as its own. At present, there is a lone highway that connects Tawang with Guwahati and the rest of the country in winter.Not even helicopters can fly in that area due to bad weather conditions. The BRO is currently executing multiple important projects spread across the country. The aim is to match the buildup of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army across the Line of Actual Control (LAC).There has been a push for road connectivity towards the 3,488 km-long Line of Actual Control which is divided into the Western Sector (Ladakh), Middle Sector (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) and Eastern Sector (Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh).In the last one year, the BRO has completed and dedicated to the nation an unprecedented 125 infrastructure projects constructed at a cost of Rs 3611 crore.
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