CPI (M) raises Silkyara tunnel incident in Rajya Sabha, demands fair inquiry
New Delhi (PTI): CPI (M) Member of Parliament P V Sivadasan in Rajya Sabha on Monday raised the issue of collapse of Uttrakhand's Silkyara tunnel and demanded an inquiry into the incident alleging that safety measures were not implemented by the company concerned.
A part of the Uttarkashi tunnel -- around 200 metres from the entrance -- had collapsed on November 12 trapping 41 workers.
A rescue team pulled out all trapped workers on November 28 in a multi-agency operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Sivadasan termed the incident very painful and accused the tunnelling company of violating all security measures, rules and norms.
"...transparent and fair inquiry is very necessary," said the MP from Communist Party of India - Marxist.
Silkyara was the not the sole incident and such events have happened before in the area, he said.
Ajay Pratap Singh of BJP said Sivadasan may have his own views on the incident, but the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to the wellbeing of the poor.
He expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister, Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami, Union Minister V K Singh, and all those involved in the rescue operation, including rat miners, for successfully evacuating the workers.
NHIDCL is constructing the tunnel through Hyderabad-based Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd.
Meanwhile, Sant Balbir Singh of AAP raised the issue of air pollution.
He said about 21 lakh deaths take place every year due to air pollution.
The air was clean for only one day in Delhi, five days in Mumbai, and 15 days in Chennai in a year Singh said.
He further said whenever there are talks about air pollution, it is attributed to stubble burning by farmers of Punjab.
He said no farmer of Punjab wants to burn stubble and urged the Centre to grant financial assistance to farmers so that they don't have to burn their crop to clean the field before fresh sowing.
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Ready to help, PM Modi tells Myanmar's Senior General as his country recovers from earthquake
Bangkok (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday told Myanmar's Senior General Min Aung Hlaing that India was doing everything possible to assist the nation in recovering from the aftermath of a massive earthquake that killed several thousands.
Modi met Senior General Min, the head of Myanmar's military government, on the sidelines of the Summit meeting of the leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping.
"Met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. Once again expressed condolences on the loss of lives and damage to property in the wake of the recent earthquake. India is doing whatever is possible to assist our sisters and brothers of Myanmar in this critical time," Modi wrote on X.
This was the Prime Minister’s first interaction with Senior General Min, who came to power in a military coup in February 2021.
"We also discussed bilateral relations between India and Myanmar, particularly in sectors like connectivity, capacity building, infrastructure development and more," he said.
India has launched Operation Brahma to help relief efforts in the earthquake-hit Myanmar, where a military coup in February 2021 brought Senior General Min to power.
During the 35-minute meeting, the Myanmarese ruler appreciated the speed at which India sent in assistance immediately after the March 28 earthquake.
“We are ready to help,” the Prime Minister is learnt to have conveyed to Senior General Min.
India has deployed military field hospitals in Mandalay, which was near the epicentre of the earthquake.
A senior official of the Myanmar administration also visited the hospital set up by India in Mandalay.
India has also deployed its National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel who are assisting in the relief work in Myanmar.
Over 3,000 people have died in the Myanmar earthquake, nearly 5,000 have been injured, and over 370 remain missing nationwide.
