Tunnel No- 103 : Seepage & drainage looming danger on heritage Kalka Shimla railway line
Recent heavy rainfall during the monsoon wreaked havoc in the state causing massive loss to National Highway, State road and Railway line and now it is looming danger and causing massive seepage inside second longest tunnel on Kalka Shimla Railway line that is Tunnel no 103 .
Recently a team of engineers from Ambala division of Northern Railway inspected a spot inside the Tunnel No -103 on Kalka Shimla Railway in the town. A railway officer said on the condition of anonymity that instructions have been passed to the department to get it repaired soon vulnerable spot as the minor cracks are emerging inside the tunnel
It is worthwhile to mentioned that number of government offices and residences and a new state gust house
have been built up on the Prospect hill which already house number of historic building including Peterhoff guest house and Indian Instituted Advance Studies or Viceroy Lodge, Doordarshan Shimla , AIR Bhawan etc.
Most of tunnel in the town and outside are having seepage due to lack of proper drainage and heavy rains, moreover in 103 tunnel on the heritage rail line water is seeping into tunnel long time which substantially go up during the rainy season . .
The Official said that seepage of water and minor cracks are being mended in time and a inspection team of railway often conducted visits on the line. A heavy boulders derailed a boggy of the Kalka- Shimla Railway line last month after heavy rainfall .
Uprooting of trees, landslides, massive dumping and mining on the construction of four lane between Kalka-Shimla National highway had also rendered landslide and flash flood many time in past few years which increased with incessant and monsoon rainfall.
This year in Himachal Pradesh, where there has been a lot of damage to life and property. At the same time,
the world heritage Shimla-Kalka railway line could not escape from the ravages of rain.
According to the information, in the last tunnel 103 till Kalka-Shimla station, a wide crack has come from Kalka side. Due to which the railway officers and employees have become very worried. It is noteworthy that it is the secondlongest tunnel after Barog Tunnel having total length of about 450 meters.
If the loss caused by the drainage of water would sorted out in the time it may disrupt movement of train on Kalka Shimla Railway station which was recently resumed after gap of one years during the Covid pandemic .
Santosh Kumar, a local residents of town living near tunnel told us that a lot of water has been drippingfrom the inner and upper walls of the tunnel at the end of the tunnel for a long time.
He said that environmentalist who are making lot of hue and cry over private construction are maintaining mute on unscientific and massive construction of heavy concrete wall by the National highway authority and Town and country planning which is uprooting number of trees every days by digging shallow roots of massive Deodar trees in the town.
Shimla town which come under Smart city project have been no dearth of public money which is now replacing previous constructionist by heavy layers concrete and steel bars, he added
