DEHRADUN: Backing up the workers' families, Uttarakhand civil society leaders have demanded that THDC pay at least ₹1 crore compensation to the next of kin of workers killed in the August 13 accident inside an under-construction tunnel of the Vishnugad–Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project in Chamoli, rejecting the announced ₹5 lakh ex-gratia as grossly inadequate.
The demand has been raised by social worker Anoop Nautiyal, who has approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking intervention in the accident and a time-bound, independent expert inquiry to determine how the tunnel disaster occurred and whether it could have been prevented.
The families of the deceased workers, Nautiyal said, should receive ₹1 crore from THDC over and above statutory compensation, insurance benefits, pending wages and all other lawful dues. He has also sought enhanced assistance for injured workers and employment opportunities for at least one eligible member of each affected family wherever feasible.
The demand comes against the backdrop of a series of accidents and serious incidents linked to construction activities at the project.
A flash flood in July 2024 reportedly damaged the batching plant, machinery and other infrastructure, while a landslide at the dam site in August 2025 injured 12 workers, four of them seriously.
The safety record came under further scrutiny after two loco trains operating inside the project tunnel collided on December 30, 2025, with subsequent official reports putting the number of injured at 88.
The latest accident has now triggered demands for accountability beyond payment of ex-gratia. Nautiyal has sought an independent investigation involving experts in tunnelling, Himalayan geology and disaster management to establish the immediate and underlying causes, examine whether workers' concerns were ignored and identify responsibility for any safety lapses or non-compliance.
The representation has also stressed that contractual or subcontracting arrangements cannot be allowed to dilute the responsibility of the principal contractor. Major civil works, including tunnel components, were awarded to Hindustan Construction Company under the EPC arrangement, and the contractor has been asked to ensure all applicable compensation, insurance, statutory benefits and rehabilitation support for affected workers.
The demand for a larger compensation package also reflects growing concern over the human cost of large infrastructure projects in the Himalayas. The July 20, 2026 tunnel disaster at the under-construction Teesta Stage-VI Hydroelectric Project in Sikkim, where 25 people were reportedly killed, and the 2023 Silkyara–Barkot tunnel disaster in Uttarakhand, where 41 workers remained trapped underground for 17 days, have exposed the risks faced by workers building underground infrastructure in fragile Himalayan terrain.
Nautiyal has argued that the Vishnugad–Pipalkoti accident cannot be treated as an isolated mishap. He has called for a broader Himalayan tunnel safety framework based on prevention, scientific assessment, independent safety monitoring and accountability rather than waiting for disasters before action is taken.
The immediate demand before THDC and the government is therefore two-fold: ₹1 crore compensation to the next of kin of every worker killed and a time-bound independent inquiry that fixes responsibility for the accident.
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