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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Abhishek Sharma's massive century guides SRH to 8-wicket win against PBKS
Hyderabad, Apr 12 (PTI): Opener Abhishek Sharma smashed a superb century and shared a 171-run partnership with Travis Head as Sunrisers Hyderabad made a mockery of the massive 245-run chase, registering an eight-wicket win against Punjab Kings here on Saturday.
SRH scored 247 for 2 with nine balls to spare.
Abhishek clobbered 141 off 55 deliveries studded with 14 fours and 10 big hits, while Head made 66 off 37 balls as the duo undid the good work done by Punjab Kings' captain Shreyas Iyer, who hit a 36-ball 82 after electing to bat first.
Abhishek also become the third-highest scorer in IPL history behind Chris Gayle (175 not out) and Brendon McCullum (158 not out).
Earlier, PBKS openers Priyansh Arya (36 off 13 balls) and Prabhsimran Singh (42 off 23) added 66 runs quickly before Iyer carried on the good work along with Nehal Wadhera (27).
Harshal Patel (4/42) emerged as the most successful SRH bowler, while Sri Lankan right-arm quick Eshan Malinga (2/45) took two wickets.
Brief Scores:
Punjab Kings: 245 for 6 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 82, Marcus Stoinis 34 not out, Priyansh Arya 36, Prabhsimran Singh 42; Harshal Patel 4/42, Eshan Malinga 2/45).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 247 for 2 in 18.3 overs (Travis Head 66, Abhishek Sharma 141, Heinrich Klaasen 21 not out).
