MHPA HRT Mass Cleaning

HRT Team at Adit-III

If it was to ask the employees of any company, any organization or corporation that "when is the most memorable moment created together with your colleagues?" Most certainly they will say, “the annual picnic”, “the get-together party” or it may be the trip spent together. MHPA is an organization where neither there will be an Annual Picnic nor there will be a get-together party to cherish. MHPA is set up in such a way that the offices of different complexes are separated and scattered as far as 50 KM. We hardly meet together. Forget about other complexes, within our own complex, we find it difficult to meet as all are busy with our own duties.

Nevertheless, today, the whole MHPA employee came together as a team to clean the whole stretch of HRT. Excavation of HRT, a 13.5 KM long is completed on 15^th March 2017 with the daylighting of Face 4 & 5 and Face 6 & 7. Within this span of time, Overt and Invert Lining has been completed. The only job in hand is Cleaning work, Grouting, Finishing and Adit Plugging. The whole team of MHPA is dedicated and works tirelessly to commission the project in record time and with limited cost.

Initiated by Chief Adm, our management thought why not we help our contractors in a little way and make this wonderful day a day to remember in our life that will be cherished forever. It is also an opportunity for all to visit HRT for many would have not even visited HRT and this may be their first and last chance before it is being charged. For effective and efficient mass cleaning, 13.5 KM of HRT has been divided into 14 parts. Each part is led by a Group Captain and is responsible for 960m length of HRT. the arrangement for vehicles was made to ferry the employees to a designated work front. 9:30AM was an agreed time for all to reach the site.

I along with my colleagues obediently followed the timing and reached our site (Adit-III) on time. There I can notice lots of confused faces grouped-in together, talking, discussing and some explaining. I can observe some without Helmet (Not really necessary), some came with Snickers and Boots (to be ruined with sludge). Others got misinformation of mass cleaning outside the Portal. Others thought of picking papers like we used to do in school days. We got nothing in hand and all I know is that HRT is full of sludge. Some are fortunately equipped with gumboots but they are the unfortunate ones to work for the group.

A group photo was clicked before proceeding inside. We went in up to the Junction of Face-4 & 5. On the way, we were greeted with feces at the side and I can see many of them turning their faces away without a word. I was explaining to some that they have got no option, Contractor didn’t provide them with portable toilets at first, secondly, the length is too long for them to reach out. We reached our site and looked at each other as to what next. We were fortunate that Face-5 got all cleaned up and we did our part by cleaning the sludge, packing in the cement bags and siding it.

Dam Team at Adit-I

I got information from some sites full of sludge, cleaning it was their nightmare. They did their best and cleaned some. By 1:00 PM we were outside the tunnel. As stated, there were supposed to be refreshments served by P & A, MHPA and working lunch by Gammon. Refreshment failed to reach our site and the same has happened to others as well. We were served with working lunch by Gammon (2 pieces of Rotis and a Curry). Everybody was murmuring about the quantity served, only to go for the second share. I had my second share and called a day off.

Some of my personal thoughts popped up as I walk out of the tunnel. Is it really the right time for such a campaign? I appreciated the initiative but the timing was wrong. It could have been better when all the work is completed and the contractor did their part in cleaning so that the whole team goes in to collect the remaining aggregates/any other foreign materials (if any). 

Anyways, the day ended with lots of laughter but my cough and cold worsened.