Rescue operations enter final stretch at Silkyara tunnel, last pipe being pushed in
Uttarkashi (PTI): Rescue operations at Silkyara tunnel entered their final stretch early Thursday with the last pipe to prepare an escape passage for the trapped workers being pushed in through the rubble.
All arrangements have been made to provide immediate medical care to the 41 trapped workers after they are evacuated, officials said. The last pipe is being laid, an electrician working at the site said.
The drilling of 800 mm diameter steel pipes through the rubble had hit a minor hurdle late Wednesday when some iron rods came in the way of the auger machine.
A 41-bed separate ward has been readied at the Community Health Centre in Chinyalisaur for Silkyara tunnel evacuees and 41 ambulances wait outside the tunnel to rush them there as soon as they crawl out.
Till 6 pm on Wednesday, up to 44 metres of the escape pipe had been inserted into the debris, an official update said in Delhi.
Earlier, officials said the American-made auger machine had to drill through a 57-metre stretch of debris to reach the 41 workers, who were trapped when a portion of the under-construction tunnel collapsed 11 days ago.
Drilling from the Silkyara end was put on hold Friday afternoon when the auger machine encountered a hard obstacle around the 22-metre mark, creating vibrations in the tunnel that caused safety concerns.
The drilling resumed around midnight Tuesday.
As the machine drills through, six-metre sections of steel pipes, just under a metre wide, are pushed into the escape passage. Once the pipeway reaches the other end, the trapped workers are expected to crawl out.
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Cong members detained in Raipur during protest against Amit Shah's remarks on Ambedkar
Raipur (PTI): Several Congress members were detained after they took out a foot march to the residence of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai here while alleging that Union minister Amit Shah had insulted Dr BR Ambedkar, police said on Tuesday.
Members of the opposition Congress and its youth wing started the protest march from Raipur's Gandhi Maidan on Monday afternoon.
While they were heading towards the CM's residence, several protesters were detained and later let off in the evening, a police official said.
The opposition party members also tried to 'gherao' the residence of CM Sai to register their protest against Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on BR Ambedkar in Parliament recently.
Heavy police security was deployed near the CM's house to stop the agitating Congress workers. Police also used a water cannon to disperse the protesters, a party functionary said.
Speaking to reporters, Indian Youth Congress National President Uday Bhanu Chib, who led the protest, said, "The way Amit Shah made fun of Babasaheb Ambedkar in Parliament, we demand that he should resign. He should apologise to the people of the whole country.''
Chhattisgarh Congress chief Deepak Baij and state Youth Congress head Akash Sharma also participated in the foot march.
The Congress leaders also raised the issues pertaining to law and order, sale of narcotics, drugs, high power tariff and unemployment in the state.
Earlier, former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Baij addressed a gathering of party workers in front of the Raipur Municipal Corporation.
Baij expressed concern over the law and order situation in the state while referring to an incident of firing at a man outside the Central Jail in Raipur last month.
Further targeting the BJP government, Baij claimed women were not safe in the state.
