Poor visibility, high pollution in Chenani tunnel, say travellers
Authorities refute charges, say people are suffering from a phobia of travelling through a long tunnel
: The state-of-the-art transverse ventilation system in the newly opened ChenaniNashri tunnel on the JammuSrinagar highway is reportedly not working effectively.
Commuters are complaining of high pollution levels, eye irritation and suffocation, inside what has been labelled as one of India’s infrastructural wonders.
Commuters using the strategically-important tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir on a regular basis said they were also battling poor visibility caused by high pollution levels inside the tunnel.
Balvinder Singh, a Delhi-based orthopaedic surgeon from Jammu, said he suffered breathing problems when he was inside the tunnel.
“The ventilation system inside the tunnel probably doesn’t work effectively. As soon as we enter the tunnel during peak hours, the visibility starts plummeting. If we travel with the windows down, the pollution level rises. It causes breathing issues as well,” the surgeon working with Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital said.“It feels as if we are passing through a gas chamber,” he added.
Anil Manhas, who works with the Jammu and Kashmir education department, uses the tunnel regularly.
“I took it lightly when I used the tunnel for the first time. I had irritation in my eyes. It was also smoke-filled. This is happening regularly now and I think the ventilation system is not working. If this prevails for long... there are chances of vehicles meeting with accidents due to poor visibility,” Manhas said.
Asked about the problem, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) spokesperson Vishnu Darbari said since Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) had constructed the tunnel, only they
If we travel with the windows down, the pollution level rises and causes breathing issues. It feels as if one is passing through a gas chamber. BALVINDER SINGH, surgeon Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi
will be able to answer queries about it.
Ashutosh Chandwar, vicepresident of IL&FS, contended that the problem has to do with claustrophobia caused by travel though such a long and confined space.
He said, “I do not know why passengers are facing such problems...There is absolutely no possibility of it. Whenever there is pollution inside the tunnel, its ventilation system will automatically start and exhaust out the pollution. What people are suffering is phobia of travelling through a long tunnel.”
He added the ventilation system of the tunnel was “well tested and can tackle every kind of pollution inside the tunnel”.
PROPER VENTILATION CAN SOLVE THE ISSUE: ENVIRONMENTALIST
Meanwhile, programme manager of Centre for Science and Environment, a New Delhibased environmental think tank and research organisation, Vivek Chattopadhyay said pollution levels inside such a long tunnel were bound to increase but can be controlled if the ventilation functions properly.
He added that such problems occur in hilly terrain and assimilation of pollutants often occur as these do not disperse easily.
“The problem of poor visibility due to pollution levels inside the tunnel is genuine and it is commonly seen. The problem can be solved only if the ventilation system works effectively,” Chattopadhyay said.
The National Highways Authority of India had earlier said vehicles below BS-III engines won’t be allowed in.
However, the directive couldn’t be executed considering the volume of trucks that ply daily carrying essentials between Jammu and Kashmir, Ashutosh Chandwar of IL&FS said.