On November 27, Billionaire Gautam Adani’s Group issued a statement categorically denying any direct or indirect involvement in the construction of Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel, where 41 construction workers have been trapped for 16 days since its collapse.
Social media has been rife with claims associating the Adani Group as the construction company responsible for the Uttarkashi tunnel.
“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,” Adani spokesperson said in a statement.
“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,” it said.
Advertisement
The Uttarkashi tunnel is part of the Narendra Modi government’s Char Dham all-weather accessibility project. The Navayuga Engineering Company Limited is responsible for carrying out the tunnel’s construction and has no connection with the Adani Group.
So far, the rescue operation is facing challenges in the rugged terrain since a landslide caused a section of the 4.5-kilometer tunnel to cave in, leaving the workers stranded about 200 metres from the entrance on November 12. The rugged terrain has been a relentless challenge for the drilling machine, which previously broke down twice while attempting to dig horizontally toward the 41 trapped workers.
