Not involved in collapsed Uttarakhand tunnel's construction: Adani Group

The Adani Group on Monday issued a statement saying that none of its subsidiaries were involved in the construction of the collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand. The conglomerate marked the allegations, which stated it held shares in a company that constructed the tunnel as "nefarious".

This comes after former Member of Rajya Sabha Subramanian Swamy said in a post on social media platform X, "This Uttarakhand tunnel was built by which private company? Who were its shareholders when the collapse took place? Was one of them Adani Group? I am asking not implying."

In response, the spokesperson of the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate said, "It has come to our notice that some elements are making nefarious attempts to link us to the unfortunate collapse of a tunnel in Uttarakhand. We strongly condemn these attempts and those behind them."

"We clarify with utmost emphasis that the Adani Group or any of its subsidiaries has no direct or indirect involvement of any kind in the tunnel's construction. We also clarify that we do not own or hold any shares in the company involved in the tunnel's construction. At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the trapped workers and their families," the statement added.

A portion of the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand collapsed on November 12 following a landslide. 41 workers were trapped 260 meters inside the tunnel.

The Silkyara tunnel, which is part of the Char Dham all-weather accessibility project, is being built by Hyderabad-based Navayuga Engineering Company Limited.
The state government has launched "Operation Zindagi" to save the trapped workers. Two boring machines have been deployed to rescue them. After a failed attempt to bring the workers out from the mouth of the tunnel, vertical drilling has been started from above it.

According to the latest update, vertical drilling has been done up to 31 meters. Preparations are also underway to start horizontal drilling inside the main tunnel manually. Rescuers need to manually dig 10 to 12 metres through the rubble after the auger machine broke down.

Moreover, the mental well-being of trapped workers will be monitored through robots.