Day 7: Vertical hole, new road planned to reach 41 workers trapped in collapsed Uttarkashi tunnel
Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand), Nov 18: With time running out, officials on Saturday began preparations to drill a vertical hole from the top of the hill under which 41 workers have been trapped inside a collapsed tunnel for seven days with limited food and communication.
As the sun slipped behind the mountains and night fell on another day gone by, officials held out the hope that the Border Roads Organisations (BRO) road to create an alternative route to the under-construction Silkyara tunnel would be ready by Sunday afternoon and the rescue mission that had been stalled since Friday could finally resume.
"We are trying to make a vertical track from the top of the tunnel. A point at the top of the tunnel has been identified from where drilling will start soon.
"This track is about 1,000-1,100 metres long. Simultaneously, we are also conducting a survey to know how much time it will take. As per our calculations, the track should be ready by tomorrow afternoon," BRO's Major Naman Narula told reporters.
A high-performance drilling machine was brought here from Indore on Saturday to pierce through the rubble of the collapsed tunnel on the Char Dham route and was being assembled before it is deployed to resume drilling, officials at the site said.
The Silkyara tunnel, about 30 km from the district headquarters of Uttarkashi and a seven-hour drive from the Uttarakhand capital Dehradun, is part of the ambitious Char Dham all-weather road project of the central government. It is being constructed under the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).
The tunnel collapsed around 5.30 am last Sunday. One week on, as the hours ticked by, the desperation of families waiting outside mounted. That rescue operations had been suspended since Friday afternoon when a US-made auger machine deployed to drill and push in pipes through the rubble to prepare an escape passage for the workers developed a snag exacerbated the anxiety.
By the time the drilling was halted, the auger machine had drilled up to 24 metres through the rubble spread over a 60-metre area inside the tunnel.
While families back home and those gathered at the mouth of the tunnel counted the hours, officials waged their own frantic battle against time as they weighed the various options available to them.
"One option is to make a four-six inch long hole which will help in providing essential items to the trapped people. If the conditions are favourable, a three-feet diameter hole will also be made so people will be able to come out. This road is about 900 metres long. Hopefully, the road will be ready by tomorrow morning," said RS Rao of the Directorate General Border Roads (DGBR).
Four machines have been currently put to work right now and four more are arriving, he added.
A team of officials from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and experts at the site also decided to work simultaneously on five plans to rescue the 41 men.
"The experts were one in their view that rather than working on just one plan we should work at the same time on five plans to reach the trapped workers as early as possible," Bhaskar Khulbe, former advisor to the prime minister and now OSD in the Uttarakhand government, said at a press conference in Silkyara.
The five plans include drilling from one end to the other on both Silkyara and Barkot sides, vertical drilling from the top of the tunnel and perpendicular drilling, he said.
"Efforts to build a platform to start vertical drilling through the top of the tunnel have begun already," he said.
The ONGC, RVNL, Satluj Jal Vikas Nigam Ltd, the BRO and the state PWD besides the NHIDCL will be the agencies carrying out different responsibilities to establish early access to the trapped workers, he said.
Khulbe is part of a team that includes Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Mahmood Ahmed, Deputy Secretary, PMO, Mangesh Ghildiyal, geologist Varun Adhikari and engineering expert Armando Capellan.
Asked about the rescue work being suspended at the tunnel for so long, Khulbe said it was time to look ahead. "We should think of what we can do now. Time is not appropriate to discuss what happened in the past."
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a meeting with officials at his official residence in Dehradun for an update on the crisis. He expressed the hope that the state-of-the-art machines manufactured in the country and abroad will be successful in rescuing the labourers.
"Under the guidance of the PMO, the state government is busy making all efforts to evacuate labourers trapped inside the tunnel are rescued. We hope we will soon succeed in the mission," he said.
"The government stands with the families of workers who are trapped. Their safe and timely evacuation is our priority," Dhami said.
Notwithstanding government assurances, it was an agonising wait for the families keeping vigil outside, despairing as the hours and days rolled on inexorably.
Their voices are getting weaker, their strength seemingly dimming, family members said after speaking to some of the workers.
Among those waiting was the family of Gabbar Singh Negi. His two brothers, Maharaj Singh and Prem Singh, and son Akash Singh have been camping outside, desperate for any sliver of news that comes their way. The family belongs to Kotdwar in the state.
Maharaj said he spoke to Gabbar through a pipe used for supplying oxygen and his voice sounded very feeble.
"I could not talk to my brother. His voice sounded very weak. He was hardly audible. Rescue work in the tunnel has come to a halt. Those trapped are also short of food and water. We have come to the end of our patience. What more can I say?" Maharaj told PTI.
Their brother Prem said the trapped workers are beginning to lose hope.
"Gabbar said he is alright but his voice is feebler now. They are getting light edibles like chana, kheer and badam. How long can they sustain on this?" Prem asked.
"India has gone digital. They talk about the success of India's Chandrayan mission but they cannot evacuate our people trapped for around a week."
The health condition of the men is worsening and his family back home getting increasingly panicky, added Haridwar Sharma, whose younger brother Sushil is among those inside the tunnel.
"All we are getting are assurances from authorities that the trapped labourers will be rescued. It has been nearly a week," Sharma, who is from Bihar's Rohtas district, told PTI.
"There is no work going on inside the tunnel. Neither the company nor the government is doing anything," he added tearfully.
Rescue operations stalled around 2.45 pm on Friday. During the positioning of a fifth pipe, a big cracking sound was heard in the tunnel upon which rescue operation was suspended immediately, a statement from the NHIDCL tasked with the construction of the tunnel said in a statement on Friday night.
The sound created panic among the rescue team. An expert involved with the project warned about the possibility of further collapse in the vicinity. Subsequently, the pipe pushing activity was stopped.
The number of workers inside has been revised from 40 to 41. The NHIDCL, which is constructing the tunnel through Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd, came to know about this discrepancy on Friday.
Deepak Kumar from Muzaffarpur district in Bihar was identified as the 41st person to be stuck in the tunnel.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Deep societal faultlines persist despite 75 years of independence: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Judge cites denial of home to Muslim girl, opposition to Dalit women cooking mid-day meals
Hyderabad, February 23, 2026: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said that despite repeated affirmations of constitutional morality by courts, deep societal faultlines rooted in caste and religious discrimination continue to shape everyday realities in India.
Speaking at a seminar on “Constitutional Morality and the Role of District Judiciary” organised by the Telangana Judges Association and the Telangana State Judicial Academy in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan reflected on the gap between constitutional ideals and social practices.
He cited a recent instance involving his daughter’s friend, a PhD scholar at a private university in Noida, who was denied accommodation in South Delhi after her surname revealed her Muslim identity. According to Justice Bhuyan, the landlady bluntly informed her that no accommodation was available once her religious background became known.
In another example from Odisha, he referred to resistance by some parents to the government’s mid-day meal programme because the food was prepared by Dalit women employed as cooks. He noted that some parents had objected aggressively and refused to allow their children to consume meals cooked by members of the Scheduled Caste community.
Describing these incidents as “the tip of the iceberg,” Justice Bhuyan said they reveal how far society remains from the benchmark of constitutional morality even 75 years into the Republic. He observed that while the Constitution lays down standards of equality and dignity, the morality practised within homes and communities often diverges sharply from those values.
He emphasised that constitutional morality requires governance through the rule of law rather than the rule of popular opinion. Referring to the evolution of the doctrine through judicial decisions, he cited Naz Foundation v Union of India, in which the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, holding that popular morality cannot restrict fundamental rights under Article 21. Though the judgment was later overturned in Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation, the Supreme Court ultimately restored and expanded the principle in Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India, affirming that constitutional morality must prevail over majoritarian views.
“In our constitutional scheme, it is the constitutionality of the issue before the court that is relevant, not the dominant or popular view,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also addressed the functioning of the district judiciary, underlining that trial courts are the first point of contact for most litigants and form the foundation of the justice delivery system. He stressed that due importance must be given to the recording of evidence and adjudication of bail matters.
Highlighting the role of High Courts, he said their supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution is intended as a shield to correct grave jurisdictional errors, not as a mechanism to substitute the discretion or factual appreciation of trial judges.
He recalled that several distinguished judges, including Justice H R Khanna, Justice A M Ahmadi, and Justice Fathima Beevi, began their careers in the district judiciary.
On representation within the judicial system, Justice Bhuyan noted that Telangana has made significant strides in gender inclusion. Out of a sanctioned strength of 655 judicial officers in the Telangana Judicial Service, 478 are currently serving, of whom 283 are women, exceeding 50 per cent representation. He added that members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and persons with disabilities are also represented in the state’s judiciary.
He observed that greater representation of women, marginalised communities, persons with disabilities, and sexual minorities would help make the judiciary more inclusive and reflective of India’s diversity. “The judiciary must represent all the colours of the rainbow and become a rainbow institution,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to the recent restoration by the Supreme Court of the requirement of a minimum three years of practice at the Bar for entry-level judicial posts. While acknowledging that the requirement ensures practical exposure, he cautioned that its impact on women aspirants, especially those from rural or small-town backgrounds facing social and financial constraints, would need to be carefully observed over time.
Concluding his address, he reiterated that the justice system must strive to bridge the gap between constitutional ideals and lived realities, ensuring that the rule of law remains paramount.
