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Uttarkashi: A major success can be achieved today in rescuing 41 workers trapped for 12 days in the under-construction Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. If everything goes well, then 41 laborers can cut through the mountain and come out safely from the Silkyara Tunnel of Uttarkashi. Now only 10 to 12 meters ( news) distance is left between the rescue operation team and the workers and it is expected that today this distance will be covered with the drilling machine. The entire country is waiting for the 41 laborers trapped in the Silkyara Tunnel and good news can be received any time today. From PM Modi to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, they are keeping an eye on this entire operation. At present, the rescue operation is in the final stages and the rescue team has to do 10-12 more meters of drilling, after which the way out for the workers will be clear.
In fact, on Thursday, the work to save the workers was again hampered because drilling was stopped after cracks were seen in the platform on which the drilling machine rests. Earlier late on Wednesday night, after a six-hour delay in cutting the iron girder that came in the way of the auger machine, the blockage occurred a few hours after operations were resumed during the day. This is the third time that drilling work has been stopped since rescue operations by various agencies began on November 12 after a part of the tunnel under construction in Uttarakhand’s Char Dham route collapsed.
Till now about 48 to 50 meters of drilling has been done and a total of 60 meters of drilling is required to reach the workers trapped in the tunnel. In such a situation, now the rescue team needs to drill about 10 to 12 meters to reach the workers, after that the way will be clear to rescue the workers. The workers would have been taken out on Thursday itself, but due to repeated obstacles, only 3 meters could be excavated. As soon as the excavation is completed with the American auger machine, the workers can go out through the pipe. Keeping in mind the situation after the end of the rescue mission, complete preparations have been made and arrangements for health facilities are also made. From doctors to helicopters have been deployed for airlift.
According to an official, drilling was stopped on Thursday to ‘stabilize’ the platform on which a 25-tonne drilling machine is installed. Some cracks appeared in the structure, but there was no official confirmation of this. An official statement in Delhi in the afternoon said that a minor tremor was observed at 1.10 pm. It was said that the speed at which the machine was working was being re-assessed. The statement said the operation would resume. Before the blockage, officials were looking at the possibility of ending the operation during Thursday night if no further disruptions occurred during drilling as it entered the final section of 10 to 12 metres. But now the operation is likely to be completed today i.e. on Friday.
In Delhi, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain said, ‘I am hopeful that in the next few hours today we will be successful in this operation. However, he expressed apprehension that there may be more obstacles in this. Former advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office, Bhaskar Khulbe, who was present on the spot, said that iron rods had fallen into the debris during drilling using an American auger machine. However, he said that it was cut through a gas cutter. Earlier on Thursday morning, he told reporters that it would take 12 to 14 hours of drilling and then about three hours for the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to evacuate the workers.
Secretary Neeraj Khairwal, who has been made the nodal officer by the Uttarakhand government to coordinate rescue operations, told a press conference around 2 pm that after the obstruction on Wednesday night while moving 45 meters under the debris, another 1.8 meter pipe went inside. Has gone. Another official said that drilling has been done up to 48 meters. Officials said that once the pipe reaches the other side of the debris, NDRF personnel will go inside and bring out the workers one by one, for which rehearsals have been done. The workers will be brought out with the help of ropes by laying them on low-height stretchers fitted with wheels. Oxygen, food, water, medicines and other goods are being continuously sent to the workers through the pipeline laid on Monday. Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways VK Singh and NDRF Director General Atul Karwal were in Silkyara on Thursday to review the rescue effort. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also reached Silkyara
