Interview by Ananya Singh
For today’s interview, we have with us, Col. Parikshit Mehra, Sena Medal, an army officer and tunnel expert.
With a wide range of experience in numerous fields, Col. Mehra, in his career, has served in both desert and mountainous terrains, including the Siachen glacier. He is an expert on nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare and has been involved in many infrastructure projects in Sikkim, including but not limited to, the Indo-China Border Roads in High Altitude areas.
Col. Mehra has also commanded a Road Construction Company of Border Roads Organisation in Bhutan tasked to maintain and upgrade Asian Highway 42. He has recently been nominated on the panel of experts for tunnel related matters by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
You acquired your BTech in Civil Engineering from DDIT, Gujarat, and then went on to graduate from the Indian Military Academy in 2004. Despite being a qualified engineer, you chose to join the Indian Army. What encouraged you to make this decision rather than pursuing engineering in the civil field?
Interestingly, when I joined the army, I was about to enter into a Master’s programme. But serendipity and the fact that my father was also in the Army was one reason. My family also wanted me to join and being from an Army background, I also felt comfortable. I realised that a lot of technology is now coming in the Army. That gives engineers a leeway and a chance to educate themselves while having a military career. So, it was both.
My family background and the fact that I knew I would get good opportunities here.
You were the Project Director of the Rohtang Tunnel Project, one of the longest tunnels today, and have been awarded the Sena Medal for extraordinary contribution. What was it like to be a part of it and what challenges did you face?
After moving out of Bhutan, I joined a Master’s degree program in rock tunnelling at IIT Delhi. After that I was posted to Rohtang. I came back to Border Roads Organization Headquarters (Delhi) as a Joint Director and went back to Rohtang again. So, in total, I was there for 5 years. I’ve seen it in one of the poorest geologies, witnessed the two ends meet the breakthrough of the tunnel. As Joint Director, I was monitoring the progress. I also returned to see the electromechanical systems, the ventilation, and the lighting systems being installed.
Sela Tunnel, in Arunachal Pradesh is your most recent project. What is the difference in the construction of the Rohtang Tunnel and the Sela Tunnel, as they are in the Western and Eastern Himalayas respectively?
Over the past few decades, we haven’t given as much attention to the North-East as we should have, regardless of the numerous reasons. But, one major difference, was that the roads leading up to Sela were not in very good condition, plus there are a lot of landslides, a lot of issues for us to bring in material till Sela. Moreover, the pass itself is at an altitude of more than 13,000 feet!
On the other hand, Rohtang was 10,000 feet, was connected to Chandigarh through a respectably good highway. But, here, to get resources, persuade people to come and make them work at such high altitude continuously, is a challenge. So, the challenges of geology, logistics, health, and continued deployment of people is much more over here. It’s a different experience. Though it is a shorter channel, Sela is more challenging in terms of construction.
You are an alumnus of IIT Delhi, from where you did your MTech in Rock Engineering and Underground Structures as well as specialisation in NATM(New Austrian Tunneling Method) from Technical University Graz in Austria and are one of the very few to have done the latter. What is the difference in the teaching methods of both places?
The good thing about the IIT was that it was two years of pure theory. They taught me well and that’s how we Indians are. We get into the nuts and bolts of everything. However, the difference was that the professors teaching us in Austria were tunnel practitioners themselves. That was more oriented to site practice. What I learnt there was much more relevant to the practical aspect. The difference was that the professors and teachers there came from the industry. Unlike in India where the professors were students and then got a doctorate and stuck to the university, didn’t really go out and gain practical knowledge. In India, the practical is slightly on the lower side, but we are and will improve upon that in the upcoming years. They helped bridge that gap between the book and the site.
But yes, both the courses were extremely effective and beneficial.
You have recently been nominated on the panel of experts for Tunnel related matters by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. What will be the role of this committee and how will it help in the construction of tunnels in the country.
One problem in the country is that there are a lot of organisations who are making tunnels of their own, through their own funding. But what happens because of this is that there is no one to set the theme, no uniformity. If there are tunnels of different sizes, the organisation has to spend money on shutters and things like that. So, one of the mandates of this committee is to try and get uniformity, and push the quality and safety standards of tunnels. We can’t allow people to compromise on the safety and quality of structures. We aim to have good quality, uniform, safe tunnels which are in sync with international targets.
I have noticed that not many children wish to join the Defence forces. Why do you think this is so and how can we motivate more people to join the Defence forces?
People, when they think of defence forces, only think of somebody who’s standing on the border with a gun. However, that’s not how it is. For that person to stand there, he needs a whole chain behind him. When we’re younger, we’re the guy standing there and as we grow-up in service, within the military also, we become a part of the logistical, technical and administrative section, which is also extremely important. That is the backup. Every youngster needs to understand that military is a well-rounded career.
You can watch this interview here: