Only 9 of 41 workers rescued from collapsed Silkyara tunnel last November have returned to Uttarkashi. Rest are now farmers, shop owners or in pursuit of other sources of income.
Work on the tunnel itself is not likely to resume for three months, said NHIDCL Executive Director Sandeep Sudhera, adding that they are approaching the situation with caution.
When sophisticated heavy-duty machines gave up, it was a band of 12 rat-hole miners who became the saviours of workers trapped in the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse.
After 41 trapped colleagues were rescued, workers in the Silkyara tunnel wonder whether to stay or go back home. Construction will only resume after a safety audit of the tunnel.
The government deserves compliments for placing a barrier between the public and the rescue mission. Or news channels would have done everything to enter the tunnel.
The chief minister also announced Rs 50,000 reward for each of the rescue workers who went inside the evacuation passage and helped the trapped labourers come out of the tunnel.
Gruelling rescue mission that hit quite a few snags carried to its end by rat-miners who burrowed through 12-15 metres of rubble and laid an evacuation pipe for trapped workers.
12 rat-hole miners have been trying to clear a path to the trapped workers, cutting and removing the debris by hand in a hazardous procedure. Workers have been trapped for 17 days.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
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