For once, good news buried bad news in all the rock and rubble that had trapped 41 workers inside an Uttarkashi tunnel in Uttarakhand. The ever ready TV channels of negativity flowed with positive energy – and hope.
Even before the ‘Great Himalayan Rescue’ saw the ‘Tunnel Horror Ends’ (India Today) Tuesday night, television news channels offered us ‘Good news in 24 hours’ (News 24) Monday. They offered “prayers” (Republic TV), too and applauded the ‘miracle’ (CNN News 18) that was expected ‘any time soon’ on Tuesday afternoon (Aak Tak).
They filled the airwaves – and the cool mountain air — with glad tidings — ‘Jeet Gayi Zindagi!’ was the favourite headline across Hindi news channels. When the “toughest operation the world has ever seen” (India Today) approached its “nail-biting last minutes” (Times Now), news channels hooted with joy: ‘Zindagi Zindabad’ or ‘Zindagi Milegi Dobara’, they said in unison, altering the name of Zoya Akhtar’s 2011 film, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
The rescue workers became ‘super humans’ (CNN News 18), who ‘moved mountains to save men’ (NDTV 24×7), the manual rat miners were showered with petals of praise — ‘Machines fail, hands win’ (India Today) and DD News was the first to recognise the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — “who took out time each day for the latest updates” from the Silkyara tunnel where the workers were trapped, it said.
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A delayed celebration
The news channels were in a state of such exhilaration that they began to celebrate the rescue before it actually took place. By 2 pm Tuesday, they were chanting ‘Zindagi Zindabad’ (ABP News) and announcing the emergence of the workers from the tunnel. ‘No more waiting,’ said TV9 Bharatvarsh. ‘Mission completed,’ added Zee News.
They showed us ambulances lining up, rescue workers coming out — “Yes, yes, everything is cleared, they (the trapped men) will come out any time soon,” said one of them to (CNN News 18). We saw politicians going in, various people rush about importantly — and ‘halchal’ all around (Bharat 24) as a makeshift hospital was set up.
The Times Now reporter at the site said, finally there were some “smiling faces”. Cut to relatives of the captive men: the elderly Mr Chaudhary, father of one worker, wreathed in smiles. The correspondent added that the men had missed Diwali, Bhai Duj, and Chhath “but now there are diyas in 41 villages—just like when Lord Rama went home to Ayodhya…”
Then, soon after 4 pm, Lt Gen Syed A Hasnain, a member of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), announced that some work remained and it would take some more time to release the men.
Never mind, said an enthusiastic TV reporter, “all is well”. Switch to bystanders who were chanting, ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’ (Republic Bharat).
When channels announced that Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had left the site, hearts sank: ‘Will the families get to hug them today?’ asked India Today.
It was 7.30 pm and there was no show. To liven up the atmosphere, India Today showed us an “exclusive” photograph of what it claimed was a rat miner taking a “nap” inside. As suddenly as he had left, Dhami reappeared and before we knew it, the rescued workers were riding out in ambulances. “This story is now dead…” a rescue worker told a Times Now Navbharat reporter.
“Applaud, clap your hands,” channels beseeched us as photographs of Dhami and Gen VK Singh (minister of state for road transport and highways) flashed across the screen. “Life has returned to my body,” exclaimed the father of a rescued man when Times Now asked him how he felt.
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Sparing us for once
That same question was put to Australian tunnelling expert Arnold Dix who had assisted in the release. “I feel so honoured… this is a symbol of good work… I always knew we would be able to do this,” Dix told India Today.
Wednesday, the media ran after the rat miners and the rescued men for interviews. NDTV 24×7 caught up with the rat miners: ‘Kaisa lag rah hai?’ asked its reporter. “Great… it felt good when we first got through to the workers…” replied one of the “real heroes”, as the reporter called them.
The feel-good factor continued well into Wednesday as news channels spoke to everyone they could: doctors, CM Dhami, rescue and rescued workers, Gen V K Singh, and watched the helicopter with the workers take off for Rishikesh and a medical check-up. They also showed managed to obtain footage of Tuesday night’s action inside the tunnel when rescued workers were welcomed and garlanded by CM Dhami.
It’s been a long time since we have seen such sensitive coverage of what could have become a sensational story, and perhaps for once, the Centre deserves compliments for issuing an advisory to the media to show restraint. A barrier was also placed between the public and the tunnel rescue mission.
Without those, news channels would have done everything to enter the tunnel and sensationalise the proceedings. You can imagine them trying to speak to the trapped workers if they could have, capture mobile shots of them and generally outdo each other with details of the “inside story”.
Mercifully, we have been spared – and so have the families of the confined workers.
Finally, when all the dust has settled, the garlands have been discarded, the ‘super heroes’ and PM Modi complimented (NDTV 24×7), it was time to ask questions — which is exactly what India Today did on Wednesday: “Norms flouted in Uttarkashi tunnels?” it demanded.
Let’s see if it receives a reply.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)