Uttarakhand tunnel collapse Highlights: New strategy to rescue trapped workers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been taking daily updates about a rescue operation launched in Uttarakhand to safely take out 41 labourers trapped inside an under-construction tunnel, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Saturday.

"He (Modi) assured that the Centre and the state government are working jointly for a safe rescue of all the labourers," a statement issued by the Garhwal Hiteshini Sabha quoted Dhami as saying in a video message at an event organised here to mark "Shatabdi Varsh Samaroh".

Communist Party of India MP Binoy Viswam has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in which 41 workers are trapped and said development activities in the Himalayan ecosystem should be undertaken after careful study of the region.

"The concerning developments from the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand have worried the entire country. The incident of the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel and 41 workers being trapped inside have shaken the nation. It's been two weeks since the workers are trapped inside and reports suggest that it may take a few more days to complete the rescue operation," the letter said.

With the rescue operations at Silkyara tunnel facing hurdles, the authorities here have given mobile phones and board games to the 41 trapped workers to alleviate their stress, an official said on Saturday.

"The mobile phones have been given so that the workers can play video games. Board games like ludo, and snakes and ladders have also been provided to them," an official said.

In a bid to keep the 41 trapped workers connected with their family members, a landline facility has been set up at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, officials said on Saturday.

The telephone facility has been set up 200 metre away from the collapsed tunnel site by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to enable the trapped workers connected with their family members.

With prayers on their lips, family members of two Assam labourers who were trapped inside the collapsed under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand for 14 days, are waiting for their rescue.

Hailing from Ramfalbil village in Kokrajhar district, 40-year-old Ramprasad Narzary and Sanjay Basumatary, 35, had gone there in May.

''We can only hope and pray that all are rescued soon and they return to their respective homes,'' said Basumatary's father Dhiren Basumatary.

Officials are now shifting focus to two alternatives --- manual drilling through the remaining 10 or 12 metre stretch of the rubble or drilling down 86 metres from above.

Advising patience, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said in Delhi “This operation could take a long time.” At the disaster site, international tunneling advisor Arnold Dix repeated his promise of getting the workers out “by Christmas”.

ational Disaster Management Authority Member, Lt General (Rtd) Syed Ata Hasnain on Saturday said that there has been no movement in the last 24 hours in the drilling work to rescue the 41 workers trapped in the Uttarkashi tunnel for 13 days.

"The current update is that (in) the last 24 hours, there hasn't been any movement within this bore tunnel that was being made for the rescue. Because...the Auger machine itself has had a bit of an accident. A portion of it (has actually) broken, and that broken portion has to be pulled out (of the escape pipe)," Hasnain told ANI.

CPI Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel and 41 workers being trapped inside. The CPI MP urged the Prime Minister to ensure developmental activities are undertaken keeping in mind the Himalayan ecosystem without harming nature and to ensure social security to workers from marginalised backgrounds who are at the forefront of these developmental activities.

Briefing the media on the progress of rescue operations, NDMA member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said that "it will take time" to bring out the trapped workers as everything has to be done with utmost care.

Kundan, an employee of BSNL says, "On the instructions of the government, a landline facility is being made available here. Efforts are underway to lay wires for that purpose. The landline (phone) will be sent to the workers trapped inside so that they can speak with their family members..."

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami held a high-level meeting with all the agencies and officials of the state administration engaged in the ongoing rescue operation to rescue the workers trapped in the tunnel under construction in Silkyara, Uttarkashi. In the meeting, CM said that getting the workers out safely is our top priority: CMO

Vishal Chauhan, Member, NHAI said, "As we have reached 47 meters. We now have to go 12-15 meters more. It could be 10, 12 or 14 meters, that we have to go manually now...The environment impact assessment of this project has also been done. There are several things that cannot be predicted but our first priority is to rescue the workers..."

Residents of nearby villages are praying to the local deity, Baba Boukhnag, for the early release of the workers trapped inside for the tunnel. Talking to PTI, many local residents said they offer prayers daily for the wellbeing and safe rescue of the workers.

Rajesh Rawat, a resident of Bhramkhaal village, about 10 km from the tunnel, said he and his family members are praying to Baba Boukhnag daily.

According to local residents, Boukhnag deity is considered the protector of the area.

“We are looking at multiple options, but with each option, we are considering how do we make sure that 41 men come home safe and we don't hurt anyone...The mountain has again resisted the auger, so we are rethinking our approach...I am confident that the 41 men are coming home by Christmas...I have always promised that the workers will be home by Christmas," said Arnold Dix, an international tunneling expert who is involved in the rescue operations.

"He looked very stressed and impatient and kept asking us when would they come out," Sunita, whose brother-in-law Virender is among the 41 workers trapped inside the collapsed tunnel in Silkyara here for the past 13 days, said to news agency PTI on Saturday.

International tunnel expert Arnold Dix said on Saturday that there were multiple ways to rescue the trapped workers. "There are multiple ways. It's not just one way. At the moment, everything is fine. You will not see the augering anymore. Auger's work is finished. The auger (machine) has broken. It's irreparable. It is disrupted. No more work from Auger. No more drilling from the Auger. There will not be a new auger," International Tunnelling Expert Arnold Dix said.

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami left the Sikyara tunnel collapse site after taking stock of the situation, right after the vertical drilling machine arrived on site.

The American auger machine is now beyond repair and is completely “finished”, as per tunneling expert Arnold Dix. The expert also said that no new auger will be used and alternate methods are being explored.

A 41-bed hospital has been kept on standby with immediate medical supplies and a team of skilled doctors to leave no room for error when the trapped workers eventually make it out of the collapsed tunnel.

The probe panel investigating the collapse of the Silkyara tunnel revealed that there was no emergency exit in the tunnel, which ultimately caused the 41 workers to be trapped in the rubble.

The last resort to rescue the trapped workers is manual drilling since only 10 percent of the overall tunnel is left. However, this method can take up to 18-24 hours extra than machine drilling.