Government made five-option plan to rescue stranded workers
The government has launched an action plan of five options to rescue 41 workers trapped in the tunnel of Silkyara in Uttarkashi since November 12, said the Secretary of Roads, Transport and Autopistas, Anurag Jain, saying on Sunday that the center is committed. to rescue all the workers safely.
While the rescue operations continued for the eighth day, Jain, in a short video update on the rescue operation, said that the government is committed to rescuing all the workers in a safe manner and is sending multivitamins, antidepressants and dried fruits to them. workers.
“They decided on five options and described five different agencies to carry out these options. Five agencies, namely, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Sutluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL), Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), National Highways and Infrastructure Development A Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDCL) have been assigned responsibilities”, he said.
The Silkyara tunnel, about 30 km from the district seat of Uttarkashi and seven hours by car from Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, forms part of the ambitious project of the Char Dham road for all types of climate of the central government.
The tunnel is being constructed under NHIDCL.
The tunnel collapsed around 5:30 last Sunday morning. The rescue operation was suspended on Friday afternoon when an American-made barrel machine deployed to drill and push pipes through the debris to prepare an escape route for the workers developed a problem that exacerbated the anxiety.
Jain went deeper and said that RVNL started working on another vertical oleoduct to supply essential items after the Organization of Border Roads completed the construction of an access road in just one day.
Additionally, the Tehri Hydroelectric Development Corporation (THDC) will begin microtunnel work from the extreme side of Barkot, for which heavy machinery has been mobilized. THDC will begin operation this very night.
SJVNL will carry out vertical perforation to rescue the trapped workers. As a result, the equipment was mobilized from Gujarat and Odisha via railways, that is, even though it was a 75 tonne equipment, it could not be transported by air.
ONGC, which has experience in deep drilling, has also started the initial work of vertical drilling from the edge of Barkot.
“The government has committed to safely rescue all the workers. We are sending multivitamins, antidepressants and safe fruits to the workers who have been trapped inside the construction tunnel in Silkyara, Uttarkashi”, he said.
The union government also celebrated a high-level meeting on Saturday where they discussed five options to rescue the workers with different agencies that assigned them specific alternatives to work.
El Dr. Mahmood Ahmed of NHIDCL has been named responsible for coordination with all the central agencies and is stationed in Silkyara.
Jain said that the government maintains a constant communication and does everything possible to maintain the morale of the workers trapped inside the tunnel.
“The area in which the workers are trapped is 8,5 meters high and 2 kilometers long. This is the part of the tunnel where the tunneling work has been carried out to provide safety to the workers”, he explained.
Jain said that NHIDCL is building another 6-inch oil pipeline for food and has completed drilling of 39 by 60 meters.
“Once this tunnel is ready, it will facilitate the delivery of more food”, he added.
