Around 3-4 international experts have also come to the tunnel site (ANI)
As the ongoing operation to extricate 41 labourers trapped inside the collapsed portion of the under-construction Silkyara tunnel of Uttarkashi entered its tenth day, rescuers on Tuesday packed solid food items such as veg pulao and matar paneer for them.
The cooked meal will be sent to trapped workers through the 6-inch-wide alternative lifeline pipe that was laid on Monday evening.
Sanjeet Rana, who prepared the dishes and works at a local eatery, said, "We have prepared veg pulao, mattar paneer, and butter chapati for the workers trapped inside. We have packed the food in adequate portions."
Earlier, on Tuesday, the Director of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), Anshu Manish Khulko, said hot meals such as Khichdi and Dalia could not be delivered in cylindrical plastic bottles through the 6-inch pipe as something got stuck inside.
"But now we have cleared the pipe," Mr Khulko said, adding that today fruits such as oranges, bananas and medicines were supplied to the trapped workers.
Abhishek Ramola, the owner of the hotel where food for the trapped people was prepared, told news agency ANI that around 150 packets had been prepared for dinner on Tuesday.
"We have cooked food for those trapped inside. We prepared rice and paneer today. We prepared about 150 packets for them. All items were cooked under the supervision of a doctor. They are being provided with easy-to-digest food," Ramola said.
Earlier in the day, Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority, said efforts to rescue the trapped men are underway from five sides but the best possible method is the horizontal drilling by the Augur machine from the Silkyara end of the tunnel.
As per the rescue plan, 900 mm pipes will be inserted using horizontal drilling equipment to create an escape route for the trapped workers.
Meanwhile, additional secretary, Technical, Road and Transport, Mahmood Ahmed, said 800 mm-diameter pipes were now being pushed in instead of 900 mm through the telescoping method.
A portion of the under-construction tunnel, from Silkyara to Barkot, caved in on November 12, leaving 41 labourers trapped due to the fall of debris in a 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel.
The NDMA official said on November 12, a part of the tunnel caved in trapping the workers inside the 2 km-long portion of the tunnel. He said the Barkot side of the tunnel is already closed as work has not yet begun on that section.
"So that (Barkot) end is also closed. As a result, the workers are trapped between the caved-in portion and the other end (the Barkot side), which is yet to be accessed," Mr Hasnain said.
"At present, different agencies, NDRF, ITBP, Army engineers, SDRF, fire and emergency services, Border Roads Organisation and other technical agencies of the Central government, are involved in the rescue operation," he said.
The NDMA member said a tunnel rescue calls for a serious and challenging effort.
"Around 3-4 international experts have also come to the tunnel site. The government has flown in experts to oversee the operation and make suggestions where they deem necessary," he said.
Meanwhile, Hasnain said that a top attack and vertical drilling to pull out the trapped labourers is also being explored.
"For that, the Border Road Organisation has made a road and equipment are being transported there," Hasnain said, adding that the priority of the government is 'life-saving'.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)