India, Aug. 18 -- The deaths of eight workers inside the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project tunnel in Chamoli have raised fresh concerns about large-scale excavation in the fragile Himalayas.

The accident highlights the risk of tunnelling through fractured, water-bearing and tectonically active mountain systems.

Similar incidents, including the 2009 aquifer breach at the Tapovan-Vishnugad project, show how tunnel construction can disturb underground water systems and affect springs, slopes and settlements.

The article argues that future hydroelectric and railway tunnelling in the High Himalayas must be guided by stronger hydrogeological mapping, monitoring and risk assessment.

A deadly accident inside the tail-race tunnel of th...