It’s a matter of 2 to 3 hours when 41 trapped labourers inside Silkyara tunnel will be safely evacuated !

Today is the seventeenth day of 41 trapped workers at Silkyara – Dandalgaon tunnel. There are news reports that the drilling and pushing of pipes of two metres is left and the work is in progress aggressively. The NDRF have established a health camp inside the tunnel fully equipped with all medical aids and equipments where the evacuated workers will be rendered immediate medical aid and tests conducted on them. Besides this food items and snacks, fruits etc have also been stored inside to feed the labourers after they are evacuated safely.

THESE ARE THE RAT MINERS WHO HAVE DONE WONDERS, SALUTES

The rat miners through a small drilling machine after the huge augur machine has failed and brought out of the tunnel, have manually drilled about twelve metres and pushed / fitted pipes inside taking out 2.5 tons of muck in a single go. The chief minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the accident site this morning and is still stationed there with the Union Minister V. K. Singh including PMO officials etc. present there monitoring minute to minute developments and rescue works.

The advisor to prime minister Mr. V. K. Mishra was at the tunnel side yesterday for several hours and even spoke to those trapped inside.

The prime minister Narendra Modi is in direct contact with the chief minister and is monitoring minute to minute situation from New Delhi.

The vertical drilling has also reached till more than forty five metres but safety wise the horizontal drilling and pipes fixed into the debris till the trapped persons is more feasible and conveniently practical in safe evacuation of the trapped 41 Miners.

However, the vertical drilling work and fitting of pipes have not been stopped as it may be used alternatively in case there is any problem in horizontal drilling measure or the evacuation process.

According the member of NDMA and retired Lt. General Syed Ata Hasnain, more than 45 metres of the drilling has been done with only two metres drilling left including pushing of pipes going on aggressively.

According to the latest reports the breakthrough had been achieved and it’s now the matter of merely two to three hours.

Addressing a press conference this evening Retired Lt. General Sayed Ata Hasnain said that while the remaining two metres drilling is actively under way , in evacuation pricesss through pipeline and stretchers, if all goes well, every person with take give minutes or may be more.

Therefore, in the evacuation of 41 labourers about two to three hours will be consumed, who will be immediately ferried in 41 ambulances to Chilyanisaur Health centre for immediate first aid and conduction of various tests including giving them warm beds, clothes etc as the temperature at the tunnel where they are stucked is 30-35 degree since there are no outlets/ ventilation inside but when these laborers will come out after seventeen long days, the temperature being below eight or ten degrees outside they will be in real problems. Hence they will be provided with blankets, warm clothes etc immediately to acclimatize them.

The Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in his message on social media platform X wrote : Reached Silkyara this morning and conducted on-site inspection of the ongoing rescue operation in the tunnel. To take out the workers, a pipe has been pushed up to 52 meters. During this time, he inquired about the well-being of the workers trapped in the tunnel and instructed the doctors to remain in constant touch with the labor brothers. All workers are healthy and safe. Teams of central agencies, army, international experts and state administration are working tirelessly as a result of which Shramik Bandhu will soon be with us. I pray to Baba Baukh Nag Ji for the speedy success of the rescue operation conducted to bring out all the labor brothers safely. There are also reports that these 41 laborers will be admitted for ten- 15 days in a full fledged Rishikesh government hospital to conduct various detailed tests on them snc ensure their complete physical safety and good health. Meanwhile, all the relatives have been called at the tunnel sites and fifty odd garlands have been sent inside the tunnel for garlending them ofcource by VVIPs who are stationed there.

Hundreds of people majority of them even women had gathered at the tunnel site right from. Gangotri amd the adjoining villages to offer prayers at Baukhnath temple at the temple site . Some women prayed in front over the tunnel with folded hands to the deity Baukhnath with immense optimism.