Workers protest in front of tunnel against delay in rescue of trapped labourers
The fellow workers of the 40 labourers trapped inside the collapsed under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi accused the authorities of not doing enough for the rescue operation
The construction workers engaged in the tunnelling process for the Navyuga Engineering Company Limited on Wednesday staged a protest outside the under-construction tunnel at Silkyara in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi, alleging that the authorities weren’t doing enough to bring out the 40 workers trapped in the tunnel despite the rescue operations entering the fourth day.
Hemant, a worker of the construction company from Odisha said, “They are just bringing new machines, not doing anything concrete. They are not allowing us to enter inside and speak to them, they are keeping the exact information under the carpet.”
Bodh Lal, a worker from Uttar Pradesh, said, “Those trapped inside are our brothers. Imagine the condition they must be living in a confined zone. If we haven’t been able to eat for last two days, how could they, even if they are provided with good food.”
As the protestors raised slogans against the authorities, police and the officials of National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited tried to persuade them.
“All efforts are being taken to rescue the trapped workers as quickly as possible. A new machine of better quality has been called in to intensify the rescue operations,” Sandeep Sudhera, executive director of NHIDCL, said while addressing the agitating workers.
The rescue workers on Tuesday started the process of inserting wide steel pipes through 55 metres of rubble of the collapsed under-construction tunnel.
According to officials, 800- and 900-millimetre diameter sections of mild steel pipes will be pushed through the debris horizontally — one after another — using the auger drilling machine.
Officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday that the Uttarakhand government is also planning to seek the help of special rescue teams from Norway and Thailand to evacuate the trapped labourers. They said those involved in the rescue operations have contacted a rescue company in Thailand that had rescued 12 members of a junior association football team aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach who were trapped in a cave system in Chiang Rai province.
Meanwhile, three special aircraft of the Indian Air Force are carrying 25 tonnes of heavy equipment to Uttarkashi which will help penetrate the debris and push the steel pipe on the other side of the collapsed stretch of the tunnel.