Manual drilling at Silkyara tunnel on, rescuers cross 50-metre mark
Uttarkashi (PTI): Rescuers at Silkyara tunnel have crossed the 50-metre mark and they need to dig through around 10 metres of rubble using rat-hole mining technique to bring out the 41 workers trapped there for the last 16 days.
Twelve rat-hole mining experts are involved in the horizontal excavation through the last 10 or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route.
This drilling was earlier carried out by a huge auger machine that got stuck in the rubble on Friday at around 47 metres.
"We have just crossed 50 metres," L&T team leader Chris Cooper told PTI on Tuesday. It raises hopes of an early evacuation as rescuers have to go only up to 10 metres to make a breakthrough.
However, the speed of the operation depends on whether or not the rescuers encounter any hurdle in the course of excavation which has often been hampered by something or the other.
A skilled team of workers is doing muck removal by hand using the rat hole mining technique while the 800-mm diameter pipe is being inserted by the auger machine through the rubble.
Praveen Yadav, who is involved in cutting and removing the hurdles from the debris, said 51 metres have been drilled.
A worker from the Trenchless company, which is pushing the pipes with the auger machine, said if no hurdles are faced, some good news could be expected by this evening.
Rat-hole mining is a controversial and hazardous procedure in which miners in small groups go down narrow burrows to excavate small quantities of coal.
Uttarakhand government's nodal officer Neeraj Khairwal made it clear that the men brought to the site were not rat-hole miners but people who are experts in the technique.
They are likely to be divided into teams of two or three. Each team will go into the steel chute laid into the escape passage for brief periods. Rajput Rai, a rat-hole drilling expert, said one man will do the drilling, another collects the rubble with his hands and the third places it on a trolley to be pulled out.
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Elephant calf brought from Bijnor kept under care at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.
The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.
The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.
On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.
Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.
It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.
He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.
According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.
