'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.
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.
T'gana BC panel seeks reports over infant's death, family alleges caste abuse
Hyderabad (PTI): The Telangana Commission for Backward Classes on Monday sought reports from state government officials on the death of an infant following alleged assault and caste abuse against her family members in Nagarkurnool district while visiting a temple fair.
In separate letters, Commission Chairman G Niranjan urged Endowments Department Commissioner S Harish and Nagarkurnool district Collector Badavath Santhosh to furnish the reports within three days.
Niranjan drew the officials' attention to media reports on the death of the two-month-old baby at Kummera village in the district and alleged caste discrimination and denial of entry to the temple fair to the baby's family belonging to a BC community.
BJP OBC Morcha's state unit president G Anand Goud alleged inadequate response by the police in the incident and demanded a transparent investigation into the incident.
Alleging that the deceased baby's father was attacked in the incident, he also demanded action against the attackers.
Goud told reporters that BJP's state unit president N Ramachander Rao would visit the village on February 24 and meet the baby's family members.
Meanwhile, a BRS delegation met DGP B Shivadhar Reddy and demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
The BRS leaders sought action against a person who allegedly attacked the infant's parents.
BC associations have held protests over the past few days regarding the alleged caste discrimination against the deceased infant's family members.
Police said on Sunday that four persons were arrested in connection with the cases registered after the family alleged that the baby died following an "assault" by a group of villagers. The family also alleged that they were abused in the name of caste in the incident on February 18.
However, a villager, part of the group, lodged a counter-complaint with the police the same day, alleging that he was attacked with stones during a scuffle with the family, sustaining a head injury, following which a case was registered.
The infant died on February 21 and her mother, who belongs to an SC community, also lodged a complaint alleging her daughter died due to the physical assault on the family by some villagers, police said.
