Uttarakhand Tunnel Collapse: Amid the ongoing efforts to rescue 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel, a part of which collapsed a week ago, a temporary temple has been installed at the tunnel entrance. In a video shared by news agency PTI, a priest was seen offering prayers at the temple.
Earlier on Sunday, rescue work at the collapsed Silkyara tunnel was virtually on hold as the agencies involved in the effort set themselves up for the next stage -- adopting multiple approaches to reach the men trapped inside, as reported by PTI. According to officials, a road to the top of the hill has been laid in a single day for digging a vertical shaft down into the tunnel.
Also, the Tehri Hydroelectric Development Corporation was set to begin “micro tunneling” Sunday night from the Barkot end of the under-construction tunnel on the Char Dham route, part of which collapsed on November 12. Boring through the debris of the collapsed 60-metre stretch from the Silkyara end was put on hold Friday afternoon when the American-made heavy-duty auger machine encountered a hard obstacle after about 22 metres.
On Sunday, Union minister Nitin Gadkari visited the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse site with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and conducted an on-site inspection of the ongoing relief and rescue work as efforts were still underway to rescue 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel, a part of which collapsed a week ago.
Speaking to the reporters on-site, Gadkari said: "If the auger machine works properly, we will be able to reach them (victims) in the next 2-2.5 days."
"The first priority of this operation is to keep the victims alive. Roads are being made by BRO to bring special machines. Several machines have arrived here. Two auger machines are currently working to carry out rescue operations. The strata of this Himalayan terrain are complicated," Gadkari added.