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Dehradun: Ten days into a daunting rescue effort, the first visuals of workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi surfaced early this morning. The major development comes a day after rescuers pushed a six-inch-wide pipeline through the rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel, a breakthrough that would help them supply larger quantities of fresh food to the 41 workers trapped inside.
The images were captured using an endoscopic camera that was inserted inside the tunnel through the alternative 6-inch food pipeline last night to send warm food for the 41 workers trapped since a portion of the tunnel collapsed in on November 12.
In the video, the labourers were seen donning their hard hats and work gear, waving to the camera, communicating that they are coping well, given their trying circumstances. Rescue officials, speaking to the workers through Walkie Talkies or radio handsets, were seen asking the workers to come in front of the camera. This is a big relief for the families of these workers.
Trapped rescue workers also got their first hot meal in 10 days as khichdi in glass bottles was sent through pipes last night. Till now they were surviving on dry fruits and water. Colonel Deepak Patil, the officer in-charge of the rescue operation, said that mobile phones and chargers would soon be sent to the workers through pipes.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took to ‘X’ to share the images of trapped workers, saying that they all are safe and will be rescued soon.
सिलक्यारा, उत्तरकाशी में निर्माणाधीन सुरंग के अंदर फँसे श्रमिकों से पहली बार एंडोस्कोपिक फ्लेक्सी कैमरे के माध्यम से बातचीत कर उनका कुशलक्षेम पूछा गया। सभी श्रमिक बंधु पूरी तरह सुरक्षित हैं। pic.twitter.com/vcr28EHx8g
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) November 21, 2023
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) Director Anshu Manish Khalkho had earlier said that cameras would be inserted through the pipeline to see how the workers were doing. The camera was sent in after it came from Delhi late on Monday evening. Officials said that all workers are safe and are being supplied food and water through steel pipes that have been drilled into the opening.
It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami keeping are keeping close eyes on the rescue operations and vows of all possible help. The Centre and the state government are working together for the safe exit of the trapped labourers. The trapped workers include 15 from Jharkhand, eight from Uttar Pradesh, five from Odisha, four from Bihar, three from West Bengal, two each from Uttarakhand and Assam and one from Himachal Pradesh.
The under-construction tunnel is part of the ambitious Char Dham project, a national infrastructure initiative to enhance connectivity to the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.
