Interview: Arnold Dix, Australian expert who aided Uttarakhand tunnel rescue of 41 men, on how ‘India’s jugaad may have played a role’

Excerpts from an interview:

Q. How has beingness changed aft the rescue and your sojourn to India?

When I returned to Australia, the reception came successful 2 chiseled ways. Among the broader community, peculiarly those not profoundly connected to India, determination was admiration and curiosity astir the method and quality challenges of the rescue… However, the effect from the Australian-Indian assemblage was thing other entirely. It was profoundly affectional and overwhelming.

Many radical would hug maine similar I was their child, expressing their gratitude successful ways that transcended words. When I visited assemblage centres to speak, it wasn’t truthful overmuch astir what I was saying — they conscionable wanted to spot me, to connect, and to stock their emotions.

These moments showed maine however profoundly radical link to acts of anticipation and however taste ties amplify those feelings…

Q. You notation successful The Promise that determination were “scars of 21 collapses” and the enactment continued contempt it. Could you explicate wherefore you judge the enactment continued unabated contempt evident signs of danger?

In my signifier arsenic a catastrophe investigator, lawyer and regulator and with my planetary cognition arsenic president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, I’ve analysed the causes of nonaccomplishment successful underground passageway projects worldwide… Contractors, locked into low-price contracts, often find it hard to accommodate erstwhile the stone conditions they brushwood disagree from the stone conditions expected.

In the archetypal abbreviated conception of the tunnel, the scars of 21 anterior collapses made it wide that the crushed was not behaving arsenic expected – the passageway was collapsing arsenic it was being constructed. Despite these informing signs, I could spot nary evident changes made to the signifier of the passageway oregon the attack to structural stability. My suspicion is that clip and outgo pressures nether the declaration did not let for changes to the operation signifier oregon method and determination was either nary much wealth oregon nary information wrong the institution to bash so.

In his book, The Promise, helium writes astir his vow to bring the men trapped connected November 12, 2023, retired of the passageway earlier Christmas that year. (Express Photo)

It’s apt the enactment conscionable pressed connected nether immense clip pressures and rigid declaration terms. India’s celebrated taste ethos of jugaad — the singular quality to improvise and find solutions connected the tally — I besides fishy whitethorn person played a role…

Q. Given the fragility of the rock, however suitable is it to physique tunnels successful specified terrain, particularly erstwhile Uttarakhand is situated successful seismic 4 and 5 zones?

Building tunnels successful regions similar Uttarakhand, with fragile stone and seismic activity, is not lone feasible but tin beryllium incredibly palmy erstwhile approached with a doctrine of harmony. The longevity and information of a passageway successful specified conditions trust connected creating structural enactment systems that enactment with the mountain’s earthy movements, not against them. It requires the engineers and passageway builders to marque the passageway harmonious with the ground.

In seismic zones, it’s not astir resisting the forces of the Earth oregon gathering structures that are stronger than the movement. Instead, we plan enactment systems that expect and accommodate the upland moving implicit time… This “harmonic” attack mirrors lessons learned globally, successful places similar Japan and Taiwan, wherever tunnels thrive successful tectonically progressive zones.

Q. What lessons from the rescue could pass aboriginal tunnelling projects successful disaster-prone areas, particularly successful the Himalayas?

The Uttarakhand rescue highlighted that palmy operations successful disaster-prone areas are not solely astir method expertise — they necessitate trust, teamwork, taste sensitivity, and the quality to accommodate nether aggravated pressure.

One of the cardinal lessons was the value of assembling a trusted squad of individuals who could enactment cohesively, respect differing perspectives, and dependable unpopular opinions erstwhile necessary.

The stakes were extraordinarily high. We were each facing the anticipation of being accused of causing harm to the 41 trapped men oregon risking our ain lives and those of others successful the rescue effort. On the method side, the rescue reinforced the request for flexibility successful methods and equipment.

Trusted individuals with section cognition and acquisition were arsenic captious arsenic precocious machinery. The quality and taste elements indispensable beryllium arsenic cautiously considered arsenic engineering plans successful immoderate aboriginal tunnelling projects successful disaster-prone areas…

Q. Was this your archetypal sojourn to the Himalayas? How was the acquisition erstwhile you acceptable ft successful the region?

My archetypal sojourn to the Himalayas was decades ago, arsenic a young engineer-scientist attending the Tehri Hydro project. I was invited to supply proposal connected a important situation involving squeezing ground, wherever the geological pressures were truthful utmost that stone bolts were being torn from the extortion arsenic the stone flexed and fired similar missiles. I had ne'er seen thing similar it successful my career, and, frankly, I was wholly humbled. At that time, I wasn’t capable to connection a solution.

Returning to the portion for the Uttarakhand rescue cognition felt similar coming afloat circle. This time, I was amended equipped, some technically and personally, to assistance the team. When I was flying up to the rescue tract successful the chopper I was struck not lone by its majestic quality but besides by the heavy taste and spiritual transportation that the radical person with these mountains. This duality — confronting their earthy geological challenges portion respecting their spiritual essence — makes moving successful the Himalayas an awe-inspiring and humbling experience. As I accidental successful the book, and I can’t explicate it, I felt similar I was meant to beryllium determination to assistance the team.

Q. The aftermath of the onslaught connected the World Trade Centre successful New York connected September 11, 2001, has been concisely mentioned successful the book. Can you explicate the relation you played astatine the clip and however it changed your outlook?

At the clip of 9/11, I was a spouse successful a large commercialized instrumentality firm, advising underground infrastructure (tunnels) owners connected operational safety. Shortly aft the attacks, I travelled to New York with a colleague… Our urgent New York sojourn was portion of a fact-finding mission, arsenic governments astir the satellite — including Australia’s — were acrophobic that the onslaught mightiness beryllium the opening of a bid of coordinated attacks targeting captious infrastructure.

The ngo was profoundly idiosyncratic for me… Some of our 130 members were killed successful the illness arsenic the Port Authority bureau was successful the Twin Towers.

I focused connected the operational effectiveness of the evacuation, peculiarly however thousands of radical were moved to information done the tunnels nether the Hudson River…

However, what genuinely changed maine wasn’t conscionable the method discoveries. Walking the streets of New York, I saw radical holding pictures of missing loved ones, walls covered with makeshift memorials, and grief connected each face… This thought of being called to assistance the galore transformed my career.

I began to spot nationalist spaces of wide usage arsenic a caller benignant of lawsuit – 1 that deserved extortion and safety. I felt compelled to dedicate my beingness to knowing disasters and making underground spaces safer. This led maine to resign from my concern — a highly antithetic move, particularly fixed my young property — and instrumentality to the barroom arsenic a barrister.

Q. In the Silkyara rescue, rat-hole miners played a captious role. How bash you bespeak connected the equilibrium of recognition betwixt your contributions and the miners’ efforts, fixed your insistence that “rat-hole miners” is simply a derogatory term?

The enactment of the rat-hole miners during the rescue was extraordinary. Their quality to hand-dig done the debris successful specified unsafe and confined conditions was cardinal to redeeming the trapped young men.

However, it is important to enactment that during the operation, the visibility and oversight of the property and media created conditions acold safer than what these miners mightiness typically look successful their mundane work. This rescue brought their skills into the spotlight, but it besides highlighted the harsh world of the conditions they often endure day-to-day without recognition.

Equally deserving of recognition for their bravery are the welders and cutters… I firmly judge that the word ‘rat-hole miners’ is derogatory and diminishes the dignity of these hardworking young men. They are of incredibly beardown intelligence quality moving successful specified confined and perilous conditions. The rescue cognition showcased their abilities, but it besides underscored the request to amended information and conditions for workers similar them successful mundane underground operations.