Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: Workers being kept under observation at AIIMS-Rishikesh; Tunnel work to start after safety audit, repair

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: Workers being kept under observation at AIIMS-Rishikesh; Tunnel work to start after safety audit, repair

The 41 workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel here were airlifted to AIIMS-Rishikesh where they underwent a health check-up on November 29, while many of them shared how they overcame initial anxiety, stood by each other and never gave up hope.

As the 17-day ordeal brought the project into the spotlight, a senior road ministry official said work on the tunnel, which is part of the central government's strategic 900-km 'Char Dham Yatra All Weather Road', will continue after the necessary safety audit and repair of the broken structure. The workers were kept under medical observation at a hospital in Chinyalisaur after their evacuation on November 28 night. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met them and handed over a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to each of them.
The chief minister also announced a Rs 50,000 reward for each of the rat-hole mining experts who took part in the rescue operation. The workers were brought to AIIMS-Rishikesh by a Chinook helicopter this afternoon.
An official at AIIMS-Rishikesh said they were undergoing a detailed examination of health parameters. Their mental health will also be checked, he said adding they were being kept under observation. "It was very painful for all of us to see our workers trapped inside the tunnel. Many festivals passed by... I had said we would celebrate all the festivals the day our workers are rescued safely. With God's blessings and the collective efforts of agencies, the workers were evacuated yesterday," Dhami said at 'Igas Bagwal' celebrations with the families of rescued workers in Dehradun later in the day.
In a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi late November 28 night, the workers said they kept their spirits up while waiting to be rescued by taking morning walks and practising yoga inside the tunnel. The workers hailed Prime Minister Modi, Chief Minister Dhami and rescue teams for their efforts, with one of them saying they had nothing to worry about as the government had saved Indians who were abroad and in their case they were within the country.
Modi told the workers, I congratulate you on coming out safely after being in danger for so many days. It is a matter of happiness for me and I cannot express it in words. If something bad had happened, can't say how we would have taken that. It is God's grace that all of you are safe. Seventeen days is not a short time. You all showed a lot of courage and encouraged each other, Modi told the workers, according to a video of the conversation released by the Prime Minister's Office.
Modi said he used to keep tabs on the operation and was in constant touch with the chief minister. My PMO officials also were sitting there. But worry is not lessened by just getting information, the PM said. A worker from Bihar, Saba Ahmed told the prime minister that while they were stuck in the tunnel for days, we were like brothers, we were together".
"We used to take a stroll in the tunnel after dinner. I used to tell them to do morning walks and yoga, Ahmed said. Though it was planned to bring the workers out on wheeled stretchers through a steel tube that lined the 60-metre rescue shaft, they crawled out of it.
The tunnel is part of the ambitious Rs 12,000-crore Char Dhaam project aims to provide all-weather connectivity to four holy towns -- Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath -- in Uttarakhand. "The safety audit of the Silkyara tunnel will be conducted. Meanwhile, efforts will be made to repair and rectify the broken structure.
"The necessary precautions will be taken and the 4.5 km long tunnel project will continue," a senior official of the road ministry who was part of the rescue team told PTI. The Uttarakhand tunnel rescue mission also came up for discussion during the meeting of the Union Cabinet on Tuesday night, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "very emotional", Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on November 29.
Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Cabinet, he said there was a "whole of government" approach and every effort was made to save every life from anywhere in the country or even abroad. "The Modi government and the prime minister have made every effort to save the lives of every Indian even from abroad and Uttarakhand is another such example in this regard," Thakur told reporters.
A portion of the under-construction tunnel collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit of the workers who were inside. The first breakthrough happened after food, medicines and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the debris on November 20 while the first video contact was made the next day. "All of us were scared, people were saying all kinds of things. Thirst, food shortage, suffocation everything came to the mind all at once. But when we established a connection with a four-inch drain pipe from outside, the mood began to change," recalled 25-year-old Manjeet Chauhan.
As the rescue work progressed outside, the morale of the stranded labourers went up. Labourers got a lifeline when the rescuers managed to drill a 6-inch wide pipe to supply them with hot food. "Besides the daily walks, I used to look forward to the hot dal sent to us," Chauhan said.
As part of the routine, the labourers used to walk along the 2-kilometre stretch inside the tunnel, do yoga and play mobile games with each other. "We all became friends. We talked about our family members, the things we would take with us when we return and how they would react. Over days, we became confident that we would get out soon," he said.
"We never lost hope. The initial few hours were difficult because we felt suffocated. But soon after, contact was made with people outside and everything slowly became normal," Vishal, a resident of Himachal Pradesh's Mandi, said. Feroze Qureshi and Monu Kumar, experts in the rat-hole mining technique, were the first to meet the 41 labourers
"The labourers thanked and hugged me. They also lifted me on their shoulders," said Qureshi who is an employee of the Delhi-based Rockwell Enterprises and an expert in tunnelling work. The leader of the 12-member team Wakeel Hassan said he was approached for help by a company involved in the rescue operation four days ago.
"We had said the work would be finished in 24 to 36 hours and that is what we did." He also said they did not charge any money for taking part in the rescue operation. He also said they did not charge any money for taking part in the rescue operation.