Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], November 26 (ANI): Uttarakhand Congress leader Yashpal Arya on Sunday lashed out at the Uttarakhand-led government over the ongoing Silkyara tunnel collapse rescue and said that the incident reveals the government’s “indolence and negligence.”
Arya, the Leader of the Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly, accused the government of corruption in awarding contracts and highlighted the lack of an escape tunnel, which, he argued, should have been built but was neglected.
“The way these forty workers have been trapped in Silkyara, is the government’s indolence and negligence. The government has committed corruption to give work to their favourite…An escape tunnel should have been built but it was ignored,” the Leader of the Opposition in Uttarakhand Assembly said.
National Disaster Management Authority Member, Lt General (Rtd) Syed Ata Hasnain on Sunday said that 86 meters of vertical drilling is required to reach the crust of the Uttarkashi’s tunnel where 41 workers remained trapped adding that 17 meters of the drilling has already taken place.
Addressing a press briefing in New Delhi, NDMA Member Syed Ata Hasnain said,” Our Plan 2 has been currently adopted. The drilling machine reached yesterday. Vertical drilling started at around 12 noon today and 86 meters of vertical digging is required to reach trapped workers.17 metres of drilling has already taken place. We have done geological studies and studies are suggesting that there might be no obstruction. We are checking the stability.”
NDMA member further informed that Plan 3 of the sideways drilling has not been started yet.
“Our plan 3 (Perpendicular, covering 170 metres) has still not been adopted. The machine for sideways drilling is expected to reach the Silkayra tunnel rescue site during the night,” he said.
He further stated that the equipment had come from outside to remove the stuck auger machine from the tunnel.
“Yesterday the auger machine was stuck, the blades broke so manual cutting had to be done and for that, the equipment had to come from outside. Through the Airforce and IndiGo’s charter flight, Magna, laser and plasma cutter machines have reached the site. Earlier, we were getting a speed of 4-5 m/hr but now that might not be the case but it is a fail-safe technique,” he said.
The member also mentioned that the condition of the workers is stable and safe.
Earlier today, a unit of Madras Sappers, an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army was called in at Uttarkashi’s Silkyara tunnel for manual drilling at the site where 41 workers have remained trapped for the past 15 days.
After a portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12, the debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel trapped 41 labourers inside the under-construction structure. (ANI)
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