'Can reach workers in 2 days if...': Nitin Gadkari shares tunnel rescue timeline

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari along with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami took stock of the relief work at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi on Sunday. The tunnel has been on the bulletin as 41 workers have been trapped under the structure for eight days now.

Gadkari, after having inspected the site earlier today, said he was confident that an advanced drilling machine would speed up the rescue at the site and assured that trapped workers would be reached in two days. He also said that the utmost priority was to save the lives of trapped workers.

"Our priority is to save their lives. Work is on war footing," he said.

"We are trying for a permanent solution with help from state institutions and Swiss agencies. Auger machine, if worked well, then in the next two days, we can reach out to workers," Nitin Gadkari said in a press briefing after he monitored the situation and spoke with experts present at the Silkyara tunnel.

He said that a vertical drilling mechanism was underway to physically contact the 41 workers and that multiple government and private agencies have been roped in to the major rescue operation.

"American experts were also contacted. We are bringing robotics. A Geological Survey of India team is trying to get satellite images to scan deep in the tunnel. We will rope in everyone needed," Gadkari said.

Addressing the ordeal of workers trapped inside, the Union Minister said that the authorities were not worried about anything but their "safety". He said one should refrain from jumping to any conclusions as experts were analysing the situation. Gadkari mentioned a six-inch pipe which has been installed to facilitate food items and survival kit for the workers.

"We are trying to send more food, medicine, water and oxygen through a six-inch pipe. So far, only cashew pista and nuts are being sent. Now we can send roti sabzi and other foods through the pipe," Gadkari said.

ON TECHNOLOGY

Besides multiple teams of experts who are working to rescue the workers, Gadkari termed the machine in hand i.e. Auger machines as "the best solution to reach them (workers inside)".

"Spare parts are also here. Fabrication has been done. This route is faster to reach and the pipe will help them to evacuate," he explained. He further said that drilling had started in the tunnel and that "42 meters" had been completed.

The plan is to drill and create space for a pipe that can be used by the trapped men to crawl to safe evacuation.

ON INQUIRY

Gadkari said the authorities would reach the root cause of the situation and that the Uttarakhand government had formed a committee to probe the cause behind the incident.

"Let's wait for a report. We will get to the root cause of it," he said.

He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was concerned but "we will succeed."

"For the last seven-eight days, we have been trying everything possible to rescue the victims. It is the priority of Uttarakhand and the Government of India to bring them out as early as possible. We had a two-hour long meeting with the concerned officers working here. We are working on six alternate options and different agencies of the Government of India are working here. Special attention is being given to the Prime Minister's Office as well. Tunnel experts and BRO officials have also been called. Our first priority is to provide food, medicine and oxygen to the stranded victims...," he said.

"We are not worried about anything but the only priority is safety (of workers)," Gadkari told reporters in Uttarakhand.

ALTERNATIVE PLAN OF ACTION

Gadkari further said until the report by the committee formed by Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami is out it would be an injustice to conclude. He said that presently they are vouching for a six-front strategy.

1. Plan 1 involves the insertion of 900mm pipes amidst the debris, creating a tunnel-shaped passage. Ongoing efforts focus on fortifying the tunnel's roof, with cement blocks strategically placed for team escape routes. So far, only 24 meters have been drilled with 4 pipes (900mm) of 6 meters each supplementary life support line of 6-8 inch diameter is being implemented.

2. Plan 2 entails vertical drilling into the camel-shaped mountaintop, forming a passage behind the debris. This serves the dual purpose of extracting trapped workers and potentially functioning as a supply line if the passage's width allows.

3. Plan 3 includes horizontal drilling from the right side of the tunnel, aiming to establish an escape route that opens behind the debris.

4. Plan 4 mirrors Plan 3 but involves horizontal drilling from the left side of the tunnel, creating another escape passage behind the debris.

5. Plan 5 accelerates tunnel excavation from the Polgoun entrance, focusing on the remaining 450-meter section between Silkyara and Polgoun ends.

6. Plan 6 focuses on establishing a supply line amid debris and rocks from the tunnel roof cavity. Initial exploration utilises micro-drone cameras to identify openings, followed by the insertion of a supply line from the hilltop.

TRAPPED WORKERS IN SILKYARA-DANDALGAON TUNNEL

It has been over a week since 41 labourers got trapped inside an under-construction tunnel in the northern part of Uttarakhand following a landslide at around 5.30 am on the day of Diwali. A contact was established with the trapped workers the next day through a pipe meant to supply oxygen to them and they were reported to be safe.

Multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), project executing agency National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), joined the rescue efforts.

Gadkari said that the terrain of the Himalayas is weak, unlike the Deccan, "as I come from Maharashtra and there, the mountains mean solid stones," he said.

On Saturday, Arun Kumar Mishra, an official from Uttar Pradesh, talked to the workers trapped inside the tunnel using a hume pipe. The muffled voices of the trapped workers requested one thing from the official -- their swift rescue. They said they were getting food and water but the conditions inside were bad.

Meanwhile, co-workers of the trapped men protested against the delayed rescue mission, blaming the construction company for the tunnel collapse.