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.
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.
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.
The drilling from inside the pipe, which is 3 feet wide, will be done by a team of six 'rat miners' from central India, who officials described as 'skilled workers'.
The collusion between the new class of bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade union bosses perpetuates itself partly because of the short-run benefits and partly because they see no way out of the system, wrote author MH Mody in 1980.
IAF is firming up plans to revamp airlift capabilities with medium transport aircraft that will be assembled in India & serve as its main workhorse. Embraer is leading contender as of now.
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