Madhya Pradesh's ambitious Sleemanabad Tunnel, a key component of the Bargi Diversion Project, is on the verge of completion with only one metre of tunnelling work remaining after nearly 17 years of construction, according to a press release.
The 11.952-km-long Sleemanabad Tunnel with a diameter of 10.14 metres, built through the Vindhya mountain range, will carry Narmada water to the Son river basin through gravity flow without the use of pumps. The tunnel is a part of the 197-km-long Right Bank Main Canal originating from the Bargi Dam in Jabalpur.
The canal, with a discharge carrying capacity of 227 cumecs, the highest in the state, has been designed to provide assured irrigation to nearly 2.45 lakh hectares of farmland across about 1,450 villages in Jabalpur, Katni, Satna, Maihar, Rewa and Panna districts.
Constructing the tunnel through the Vindhya Ridge posed the biggest challenge of the project. An open-cut method was not feasible as it would have required the excavation of more than 40 million cubic metres of earth, besides dealing with high groundwater levels and difficult geological conditions.
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The tunnel extends between the 104th and 116th kilometre of the Right Bank Main Canal and passes beneath national highways, railway lines, underground utilities and populated areas without causing structural damage. During construction, engineers encountered massive underground cavities, groundwater seepage of 18,000-25,000 litres per minute, sinkholes, liquefaction risks, carbon dioxide emissions and repeated failures of tunnel boring machine (TBM) cutter heads due to hard rock conditions, the release read.
Advanced technologies, including TAM grouting, high-capacity dewatering systems, core drilling and simultaneous tunnelling from upstream and downstream faces, were deployed to overcome the engineering challenges. With only one metre of tunnelling left, the project is now nearing its final breakthrough.
The release further stated that the tunnel safely passes beneath national highways, railway lines, underground utilities and inhabited areas without causing damage to surface infrastructure. Temporary rehabilitation, fair compensation and relocation of affected families were carried out with sensitivity and transparency.
Once completed, the project will irrigate 21,823 hectares in Katni, 54,227 hectares in Maihar, 1,04,970 hectares in Satna, 448 hectares in Panna and 3,532 hectares in Rewa, taking the total command area after the tunnel to 1.85 lakh hectares. Besides this, water will also be supplied to Water Resources Department projects covering another 30,307 hectares.
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