After more than two hundred hours trapped within the collapsed tunnel in Silkyara, Uttarkashi, there was finally some positive news for the 41 exhausted, terrified, and injured labourers. In an apparent major breakthrough, rescue personnel successfully created a second supply route by putting a six-inch-diameter pipe through the wreckage and out the other side.
NHIDCL director Anshu Manish Khalkho said, “The 53m-long pipe is a veritable lifeline. We had been trying to do this for the last nine days. This will enable us to send nutritious and larger quantities of food and other essentials like medicines. We’ll also be able to improve ventilation. A microscopic camera will be sent to study their condition.”
Arnold Dix, the world’s leading expert on tunnelling, reached the site. “We’re going to get them (labourers) out for sure. We have got the best experts for this Himalayan geology here. We are going to find a solution,” the Australian said.
Food will be sent to workers on doctors’ recommendation: DM
After forcing the workers to survive on chickpeas, almonds, cashews, and popcorn for days, rescuers were observed making hot khichdi bottles intended for delivery to them late at night, according to the media.
The rescue workers had earlier been using a four-inch steel pipe. But it was limited to sending the dry food. A few of the workers reported experiencing stomach pain. The four-inch tube provided an even oxygen supply.
District magistrate of Uttarkashi, Abhishek Ruhela, said, “We're consulting doctors and a variety of food will be sent to the workers only on their recommendation.”
Parallely, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) is working on another vertical pipeline for supply of essential items, according to officials of NHIDCL, the central government PSU which has been made coordinating agency for the multi-pronged and simultaneous rescue efforts.
An NHIDCL official said: “The area in which the workers are trapped is 8.5m high and about 2km long. This is the tunnel's built-up portion where concreting work has been done...Water and electricity are available in this part of the tunnel.”
For the mission, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has dispatched two robots, together with a remotely driven car known as "Daksh."
Notably, the central authorities in charge of the rescue were preparing for the next phase by concurrently working on "five options" to reach the trapped personnel, putting the operations essentially on stop.