It's been more than four days since 40 construction workers have been trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand, but far from losing hope and letting their morale flag, they are eager to let their families know that they are okay. A supervisor from Uttarakhand assured his son not to worry on Tuesday, and another labourer was heard telling an official something along similar lines in an audio clip that surfaced on Thursday.
In the clip, an official is heard speaking to the construction worker, called Mahadev, in Odiya. The official asks Mahadev to tell his father and uncle that he is doing fine and they should not worry. To this, Mahadev says he is doing okay. When he is asked to repeat this, the labourer says, "I am fine, I am fine uncle."
On Tuesday, Gabbar Singh Negi from Kotdwar in Uttarakhand, who is a supervisor trapped in the tunnel, spoke to his son through the pipe that has been installed to ensure that oxygen reaches the trapped labourers.
Speaking to NDTV that day, his son, Akash, had said, "My father works as a supervisor. I spoke to him today. He said he is helping everyone keep their morale high and asked me to tell everyone at home not to worry. My father said no one has been injured and they are getting adequate food and water. The engineers tell me they will be rescued in a few hours. I am hoping that will happen,"
Mr Negi's elder brother, Maharaj, who was also at the site, said his brother has been with the company, which is involved in the construction of the tunnel, for over 22 years.
"My brother has a lot of experience and that is one of the reasons that the labourers who are with him are safe. The officials of the company said a pipe is being used to give food, water and tea to them," said Maharaj.
A portion of the 4.5-km under-construction tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway, which is meant to join Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi, collapsed early on Sunday morning. The tunnel is part of the Char Dham project.
A faster and more powerful 'American auger' machine has been deployed to push a pipe through the debris and rescue the construction workers.
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