'Every day, we hear 2 more hours': Anxiety at peak in J'khand village as tunnel rescue hits setback
Ormanjhi (Jharkhand) (PTI): In Khirabeda, the anxiety has now reached its peak as three people from this nondescript village on the outskirts of Ranchi are still stuck in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand where the rescue operation hit another setback.
The blades of the auger machine drilling through the rubble of the tunnel were on Saturday stuck in the debris, forcing officials to consider switching to options that could drag on the rescue of 41 trapped workers by several days -- even weeks.
Ever since the news reached a paralysed Shravan Bediya, 55, whose only son Rajendra is trapped there, the desperation on his face became palpable even though he is confined to his bed.
Besides 22-year-old Rajendra, two others from the village -- Sukhram and Anil, both in their early twenties, are trapped inside the tunnel for two weeks now.
Sukhram's mother Parvati, who is also paralysed, has been inconsolable since she found out about the disaster that happened in Uttarkashi.
In Anil's house, his grieving mother has not cooked anything for the last two weeks. The family has been surviving on whatever food their neigbours are providing.
The rescue effort began November 12 when a portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route collapsed following a landslide, cutting off the exit for the workers inside.
Anil's brother Sunil who rushed to the spot from Ranchi told PTI over the phone, "Every day, we hear two more hours, three more hours or one more day. We don't know how long it will take. I could talk to my brother four days back."
Sunil is now living in the place his brother was staying along with the 40 other workers who are stuck inside.
"We are getting food when it is distributed," he said.
Sunil, who also works in such projects, said this was the most difficult time of his life, with none left to tend to his old parents who were in a state of shock.
"I could somehow arrange the funds to travel to Uttarkashi," he said.
Sukhram's sister Khushboo said that everyone in their village was glued to their mobile phones for updates on the rescue operations.
"The entire village is in shock as three of our people are stuck inside," she said.
Ram Kumar Bediya, a villager, said that a group of 13 people, all between 18 and 23, had left Khirabeda on November 1 to work at the Uttarkashi tunnel.
"When the disaster struck, three of them were working inside the tunnel," he said.
A plasma cutter was flown in from Hyderabad on Sunday to cut and remove parts of the auger machine stuck in the rubble inside the tunnel.
A complete disengagement of the machine is necessary to resume the rescue work, which involves manual pushing of pipes through the rubble to prepare an escape passage.
The workers are in a built-up two-kilometre stretch of the tunnel. They are being sent food, medicines and other essentials through a six-inch wide pipe.
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Bengaluru jail introduces biometric tracking system for prisoners
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.
According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.
Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.
Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.
Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.
The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.
Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.
