"Won't Believe Until...": Families Of Trapped Workers Wait For Reunion

For the past 17 days, TV cameras have been pointed at the entry to the Uttarakhand tunnel, where 41 workers were trapped following a collapse on November 12. Away from the crosshairs, their families have been trapped in a tunnel where hope fought despair. Hope has finally won.

Nearly 800 km from the Uttarkashi tunnel, where final preparations are on to bring the trapped workers out, a woman is beside herself with happiness. Dhanpati's son Ram Sundar is among the 41 workers trapped inside the tunnel. Two weeks back, she was waiting for her son to come home for Diwali. And then, disaster struck.

After 17 harrowing days and multiple setbacks in the rescue operation, joy has finally returned to the family's home at Motipur in Uttar Pradesh's Shravasti district.

"I am very, very happy. I am smiling ear to ear," Ms Dhanpati told NDTV over the phone. Asked how she will welcome her son, the overjoyed mother listed everything she will cook for him once he is home. "I will make khichdi for him. I will make kheer puri," she said, adding that the village is eagerly waiting for her son's return.

About 400 km away, at Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, a small crowd has gathered at the home of Akhilesh Singh, among the trapped workers. There is joy, with a hint of nervousness, as family members stay glued to the TV set, waiting to see their son's face.

At Khirabera village in Jharkhand's Ranchi, the family members of 22-year-old Anil Bediya have their fingers crossed. "It has been 17 days since my son has been trapped. I will be happy when my son arrives. I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes," Anil's mother told news agency ANI.

As the nation waits anxiously for the safe rescue of these trapped workers, ambulances are on the spot to rush them to a makeshift hospital as soon as they come out. This is to check for the impact the traumatic experience has had on their physical and mental health.