Bhubaneswar: A portion of the top soil over an under-construction railway tunnel caved in near Adenigarh in Boudh district, an official said on Monday. No one was injured in the incident that took place on the Khurda Road-Bolangir rail line stretch.

“A minor incident of soil caving-in occurred on Monday afternoon at Tunnel No. 4 on the Khurda-Bolangir railway line. It was due to loose soil formation and continuous rainfall in the area,” the East Coast Railway (ECoR) said in a statement.

There has been no impact on manpower or machinery, and the incident will not affect the overall progress of the project. “All necessary safety measures are in place, and work continues as planned,” the ECoR said. The 4,185-metre tunnel will connect Adenigarh and Charichhak stations in Boudh district, officials said.

Meanwhile, Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das on Tuesday alleged that the soil cave-in at a tunnel of the ongoing Khurda-Bolangir project in Boudh district happened because of negligence by the Railways. A delegation of the Odisha Congress, led by Das, visited the tunnel site on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, he alleged that the incident happened because of negligence by Railways as they had taken the project very casually.

“It is a big mistake from the Railway side. I hold the Railway Minister and the officials concerned responsible who are supposed to examine the quality of the soil,” he said.

“The Railway Minister is responsible because many such accidents have taken place throughout the country after he took charge of the ministry,” t he Congress leader said. Fortunately, no one was working there when the mishap happened, Das said.

Stating that the Railways is competent to handle such kind of situation, Das said, “The Indian Railways has built underwater tunnels and bridges over rivers. But the tunnel incident is negligence from the Railway side as no one has looked after such a minimal thing.”

“We don’t want to make it a political issue. It is a technical problem and the Railway Minister should take necessary steps while executing projects on such type of soil,” he added.