Adani Group has clarified that it has nothing to do with the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi, where 41 workers have been trapped since the under-construction structure collapsed on November 12. The construction workers got trapped inside the tunnel when a part of the structure collapsed following a landslide.
In a statement, a representative of the Adani Group said it does not own or hold any share in the company involved in the tunnel construction.
"We clarify with utmost emphasis that the Adani group or any of its subsidiaries has no direct or indirect involvement of any kind in the tunnel's construction," it said. "We also clarify that we do not own or hold any shares in the company involved in the tunnel's construction.”
The group condemned "nefarious attempts" to link its name to the collapse, saying, "At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the trapped workers and their families".
"It has come to our notice that some elements are making nefarious attempts to link us to the unfortunate collapse of a tunnel in Uttarakhand. We strongly condemn these attempts and those behind them,” stated the Adani Group.
Who built collapsed Silkyara tunnel?
The Silkyara tunnel is part of the Char Dham all-weather accessibility project and is being built by Hyderabad-based construction firm Navayuga Engineering Company Limited (NECL), the flagship entity of the Navayuga Group. C. Visweswara Rao is the NECL Chairman and C. Sridhar is the NECL Managing Director.
The latest clarification from Adani Group comes after social media was abuzz with rumours that the company constructing the tunnel had links to Gautam Adani's conglomerate.
Former BJP lawmaker Subramanian Swamy posted on X, saying, "This Uttarakhand tunnel was built by which private company? Who were its share holders when the collapse took place? Was one of them Adani Group? I am asking not implying."
In a different post, he alleged, "At some level the Company has the ashirwad of Adani, so I am informed. But I am checking it thoroughly because the collapse is an outrage."
Adani shares soar
Adani Group shares climbed in the morning trade on Tuesday with all its listed firms quoting sharp gains despite muted trend in the equity indices. Leading the hike was Adani Total Gas which soared nearly 20 per cent followed by Adani Energy Solutions with 13 per cent surge. Adani Power leaped 8.46 per cent, Adani Green Energy rose 7.84 per cent, Adani Enterprises jumped 7 per cent, Adani Wilmar rallied by 6.86 per cent and NDTV gained 6.42 per cent on the BSE.
Adani Ports surged 3.71 per cent, Ambuja Cements climbed 3.66 per cent and ACC advanced by 2.86 per cent.