Uttarkashi: Ten days into the operation, as many as 13 agencies are working on war footing to rescue 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara-Barkhot tunnel.
A section of the under-construction tunnel, part of the Char Dham all-weather highway project, had collapsed on 12 November, trapping 41 workers behind 60 metres of debris.
Asked what might have led to the collapse, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela told ThePrint that the state machinery is focused solely on the rescue operation for now.
“Until we look into the collapse after the rescue mission is completed, it will be difficult to say anything,” he added.
Rescue operations encountered a snag Friday afternoon after an American auger machine airlifted from Delhi to make way for an ‘escape passage’ hit a hard surface. Officials are now saying that they are working simultaneously on five different approaches to rescue the workers trapped inside the tunnel. One approach involves vertical drilling, for which authorities have sought the assistance of the Army and Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
On Sunday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the site of the collapse to review rescue operations. They also met the family members of workers trapped inside the tunnel and assured them that authorities were making all possible efforts to ensure the safety and return of their loved ones.
A temple of Bokhnag — deity of Silkyara — was re-established near the entrance of the tunnel after locals said they believed the removal of this temple by the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) is what led to the collapse.
A top official part of the rescue operations said Wednesday that authorities had identified the location for vertical drilling on the hill above the under-construction tunnel. Work to pave a road to the location is nearly complete, the official said, adding that the BRO is building a road to the said location on the hill from both sides of the tunnel.
