Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun/Chamoli, 14 Aug: Garhwal MP Anil Baluni had a narrow escape from injury today when a boulder fell on his vehicle near Tota Ghati on the Rishikesh–Badrinath highway while he was travelling to Pipalkoti to review the tunnel accident and meet affected people. The front portion of his Innova car was damaged in the incident, but Baluni and all occupants fortunately were unhurt. The vehicle was later taken to Srinagar for repairs, after which he resumed his journey towards Pipalkoti to inspect the disaster affected tunnel and to interact with those impacted by the tragedy.
Baluni observed that by the grace of Badrinath and Kedarnath all passengers are safe, and only the vehicle has suffered damage.
It may be recalled that yesterday, the Pipalkoti tunnel incident has claimed at least 7 lives as the water and the debris had entered the under construction TRT tunnel of Vishnugad–Pipalkoti hydropower project of THDC at Mayapur. This area falls under the Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency with BJP leader Anil Baluni being the local MP. Later Baluni inspected the under‑construction THDC tunnel at Mayapur, Pipalkoti, where rescue and relief operations are underway following the recent accident. He interacted with the teams engaged in the mission, obtained details of the ongoing efforts and issued necessary directions to expedite the work. Baluni emphasised that all possible measures are being taken to bring the trapped workers out safely and to provide immediate relief to the affected families.
