Tunnel collapse: Kin of three more trapped Odisha workers to reach Uttarakhand
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Family members of three more Odia workers will reach Uttarakhand, where the labourers have been trapped in an under-construction tunnel for a fortnight, an official said.
The kin of the two other labourers from Odisha are already in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district where the incident occurred.
Labour Commissioner N Thirumala Naik on Friday said one more official of the department will also travel to the site where two others are camping and providing all updates about the rescue operation to the government.
A total of 41 workers have been trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel.
"While family members of two workers are already in Uttarkashi, those of another three workers will travel there on Saturday morning," Naik told PTI.
The state government is facilitating travel, food and accommodation of these family members, he said.
They will remain there till the completion of the rescue operation. All the five trapped workers from Odisha are doing fine, Naik added.
Of the five workers, Khirod Nayak, Dhiren Nayak and Bisweswar Nayak are from Mayurbhanj district, while Bhagwan Bhatra and Tapan Mandal hail from Nabarangpur and Bhadrak districts respectively.
Another labour department official said the family members of two workers, who are already in Uttarkashi, have talked to the workers over walkie-talkie sets.
Labour Minister SP Nayak said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been monitoring the tunnel collapse incident and is concerned over the safety of 41 workers, including five from the state.
The multi-agency rescue effort began on November 12 when a portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route collapsed, trapping workers who were still inside.
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BJP will form govt in Bengal with thumping majority: Nabin
Mirzapur (UP) (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday voiced confidence that his party will form the government in West Bengal with a "thumping majority".
Polling is underway for 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, covering key districts, including Kolkata, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas.
The high-stakes contest is being seen as decisive for the ruling TMC's bid for a fourth consecutive term and the BJP's push to form its first government in the state. The first phase held on April 23 recorded a high voter turnout of over 93 per cent, reflecting intense electoral engagement.
Speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, Nabin said, "The BJP will form the government in Bengal. We are winning the elections with a massive majority."
Earlier in the day, the BJP chief visited the Vindhyavasini temple and offered prayers. The rituals were conducted by his priest Acharya Agastya Kumar Dwivedi.
On his first visit to the district after assuming office, Nabin was welcomed by party workers at several places. At the temple, he was received by city MLA Ratnakar Mishra and District Magistrate Pawan Kumar Gangwar, who felicitated him with a traditional 'angvastram'.
After offering prayers for about 10 minutes amid Vedic chants, Nabin held a meeting at a hotel with local MLAs, including Mishra, Majhwan MLA Suchismita Maurya and Madihan MLA Ramashankar Patel.
Patel said Nabin emphasised strengthening the organisation and asked public representatives to focus on serving people in their respective constituencies.
Several party leaders, including district president Lal Bahadur Saroj, district vice-president Gaurav Umar, municipal chairperson Shyam Sundar Kesari, women workers and senior officials, were present on the occasion.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place by the district administration for the visit, with multiple officers of circle officer rank deployed, officials said.
