Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue Operation: For the first time, food like khichdi and porridge was sent through a pipe to the workers trapped in the tunnel for 9 days in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. Till now dry fruits and water etc. were being sent to them.
On Monday (November 20), after a 6-inch pipe was delivered to the people trapped in the tunnel, they were sent khichdi, porridge and oranges. Let us tell you that after the landslide on November 12, 41 construction workers were trapped in the Silkyara Tunnel when some parts of it collapsed. Till now, during the rescue operation, light food items were being supplied to the workers through a 4-inch compressor pipeline.
On Monday, rescue workers were successful in drilling the blocked part of the tunnel and laying a 53 meter long six-inch diameter pipeline across the debris. Through this, large quantities of food items, communication equipment and other essential items can be supplied to the workers.
‘Both oxygen and food can be sent’
Anshu Manish Khalko, director of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), said, “This 6-inch pipe is 53 meters long. This is a big achievement for us. Apart from being an alternative lifeline, it will allow us to send both oxygen and food. Nutritious food can be sent to the stranded workers.” The officer said he has spoken to a relative of one of the stranded workers, Deepak Kumar, who said that after the food was sent, the workers inside the tunnel are happy.
‘For the first time hot food is being sent to them’
While talking to ANI, Hemant, the cook who prepared food for the workers, said, “For the first time, hot food is being sent to them. Khichdi, pulses and fruits are being sent.” Another cook Ravi Roy said that the ingredients have been sent in bottles. Seven hundred and fifty grams have been sent for one person. Apart from this, seasonal juice, apples and oranges have been sent.
Court seeks response from state government on rescue operations
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand High Court on Monday asked the state government and central agencies to respond within 48 hours on the ongoing rescue operation and measures taken in the tunnel. This instruction of the High Court has come on the PIL filed in this regard by Dehradun-based NGO Samadhan.
The High Court has also issued notices to the Disaster Management Secretary, Public Works Department, Central Government and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited. The next hearing on the petition has been scheduled for November 22.
The organization said in its petition that the workers have been trapped in the Silkyara tunnel since November 12 but the government has so far failed to take them out. The petition has alleged that the government and the implementing agency are playing with the lives of the people imprisoned inside the tunnel. It said that experiments are being done every day in rescue operations but till now no one has been successful.
In the petition, a demand has also been made to register a criminal case regarding the matter and get it investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). It has also been alleged in the petition that geological investigation of the area was not done properly at the time of tunnel construction.
Also read- What is DRDO’s ROV Daksh, which was deployed in Uttarkashi tunnel rescue operation, know its features.
