Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday and asked for information about the ongoing efforts to rescue the 41 workers who have been stuck at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi since November 12.
The Uttarakhand government asserts that PM Modi also questioned Chief Minister Dhami about the working conditions and provided him with some important instructions.
“We were able to gather information about the rescue operation. The PM enquired about the workers’ general well-being as well as the food and basic supplies that were provided to them while they were stranded inside the tunnel. The Department of Information and Public Relations in Uttarakhand claims that records were kept regarding the health and safety of the personnel conducting relief and rescue operations.
A section of the tunnel that was being built from Silkyara to Barkot collapsed on November 12; debris from the collapse trapped 41 laborers within the 60-meter section on the Silkyara side of the tunnel. The 2 km of built area where the workers are trapped is finished and includes concrete work that ensures their safety.
“The New Austrian Tunnel Method is being used in the construction of this tunnel, the Chief Minister told him. When steel objects are placed in front of the auger machine, he informed the PM, it hinders the work. Because the auger machine must be stopped and then removed in order to remove all blockages, this procedure takes time, according to the official release said.
It added that PM Modi specifically instructed the Chief Minister to make sure the workers’ medical needs and health examinations receive special attention after they emerge from the tunnel. In addition, CM Dhami alerted the Prime Minister about the ground-level relief and rescue operations still underway in the Silkyara Tunnel. In order to assess the state of affairs at the operation site, the PM also spoke with CM Dhami earlier on Friday.
There have been a number of obstacles encountered during the worker rescue operation.
The formation of cracks on the platform where the drilling machine manufactured in the United States was positioned is one of the latest obstructions.
Officials say that, nevertheless, it has been reinforced with an accelerating agent to speed up the concrete’s hardening process, and rescue efforts should soon resume.
Work has been done to create an escape route by installing concrete culvert blocks, steel pipes, and hume pipes for a distance of 67 meters (187 meters to 120 meters) in order to provide an emergency safe passage for the labor force during pipe pushing operations by auger machine from close to the pipe drilling machine.