DEHRADUN: With little time left for the evacuation of 41 labourers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel, the government has stepped up the rescue operation plan for the ongoing operation at the tunnel in Uttarkashi as relief workers stepped up efforts to evacuate them. After being safely taken out of the tunnel, the labourers will be taken directly to Chinyalisaur Hospital, 32 km from the tunnel.
The workers will be pulled out of the tunnel with a small wheeled stretcher through an 800 mm pipe by rope, from where they will be immediately taken to the hospital for examination by ambulance. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami left Dehradun for Uttarkashi on Wednesday evening to boost the morale of the workers after being evacuated.
"So far, nine pipes have been drilled horizontally up to 48 metres," Colonel Deepak Patil, the rescue in charge of the operation in the Silkyara tunnel for the past 10 days, told this newspaper, sharing an update on the progress. There are about two more pipes left to be drilled. "The process of drilling and welding is time-consuming, as each pipe must be very strongly welded together and then allowed to cool before continuing", Col Patil added.
Being forced to stay confined for more than 260 hours in the collapsed tunnel would likely have caused a painful change in 41 workers. In such a situation, after getting out of the tunnel, they should avoid interacting with many people.
"The labourers will likely be kept in isolation for a day or two after emerging from the tunnel," said Dr Rohit Gondwal, a psychiatrist who has been in Silkyara from Dehradun for the past three days to gain a deeper understanding of the mood of the trapped labourers.
Dr Gondwal spoke through the camera from pipe to two experienced labourers referred to as 'Negi ji' and 'Gabbar', who have faced similar accidents in the past. "Individuals like Gabbar and Negi have played a key role in maintaining high morale among the 41 fellow labourers in the tunnel", Dr Gondwal said.
Forty-one labourers were trapped when a portion of an under-construction tunnel from Silkyara to Dandalgaon on the Yamunotri National Highway (NH) in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi collapsed in the early hours of Diwali on November 12. Most of the stranded labourers are from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal.
Around 200 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, paramilitary forces, air force and revenue department have been pressed into service for the last 11 days to rescue the stranded labourers.
The total length of the tunnel between Silkyra and Badkot being constructed by Navayuga Engineering Company Limited under the supervision of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) is 4533 meters. The collapsed part is 35 meters.
