'Will Get You Out Safely': PM's Principal Secretary Tells Workers In Tunnel

On the 16th day of the operation to rescue 41 labourers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, PK Mishra, visited the site and assured the teams of all possible support from the Union government. Mr Mishra also spoke to the trapped workers and their family members and reassured them that they would be rescued safely at the earliest.

After horizontal drilling with the auger machine was abandoned on Saturday in favour of manual drilling, rescue teams are now looking at several other options to reach trapped construction workers. Mr Mishra took stock of the vertical drilling being done by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and Satlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited and also examined the work on the 170-metre perpendicular tunnel.

Mr Mishra interacted with the trapped workers through the communication line and assured them of their safe rescue. Sources said the workers exuded confidence and optimism. He also spoke to the family members of the labourers and gave them the same assurance.

Sources said the principal secretary advised the agencies to conduct the rescue operation at a fast pace while prioritising the safety of men and machinery. He also instructed them to ensure the well-being of the trapped workers with a timely supply of food and other daily-use items.

Dr Mishra stressed the need for continuous health monitoring of the trapped workers and said there should be periodic counselling sessions for their mental health.

"The principal secretary appreciated the hard work of various ground staff like machine operators, welders, rat miners, police, national and state disaster response forces, Border Roads Organisation, Army, Indo Tibetan Border Police, district administration and all the other agencies involved in the operation," said an official.

Three teams began manual drilling at the site on Monday evening and another pipe has been pushed in about one metre ahead of the place where the auger machine had stopped.

The under-construction Silkyara-Dandalgaon tunnel in Uttarkashi is part of the ambitious Char Dham project to enhance connectivity to the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. The workers got trapped when a portion of the tunnel collapsed on November 12, the day of Diwali.