Tunnel collapse: Local residents praying to their deity for early rescue of trapped workers
Uttarkashi (PTI): With repeated obstructions impeding the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation, residents of nearby villages are praying to the local deity, Baba Boukhnag, for the early release of the 41 workers trapped inside for the past 13 days.
Talking to PTI, many local residents said they offer prayers daily for the wellbeing and safe rescue of the workers.
Rajesh Rawat, a resident of Bhramkhaal village, about 10 km from the tunnel, said he and his family members are praying to Baba Boukhnag daily.
Rawat, who owns a homestay in his village, said the local residents have huge faith in Baba Bhoukhnag and the workers will come out soon with his blessings.
According to local residents, Boukhnag deity is considered the protector of the area.
Rajender Singh, who runs a roadside eatery at Silkyara village, said that apart from offering prayers for the wellbeing of the trapped workers, everyone in his village tries to help the rescue personnel working at the site day and night.
Brij Mani Bhat, a resident of Mehargaon village, about three km away from the tunnel, said he lights an earthen lamp every morning and pray for the early rescue of the trapped workers.
"I hope the trapped workers will come out soon and meet their family members. The rescue team members are working continuously but unfortunately the work gets stopped due to the machines. We don't know the technicalities and cannot do much but we can at the least pray to our God for their early rescue," Bhat said.
Local residents said there will be a 'mela' at the temple of Baba Boukhnag near the tunnel on Sunday.
Drilling at the collapsed portion of the tunnel has been halted since Friday as the auger machine faced hurdles one after another. An tunnelling expert at the site said on Saturday the machine was broken.
Rescuers are now exploring other options such as drilling the remaining stretch of 10 to 12 metres manually or creating a vertical escape passage for the 41 labourers trapped inside.
The multi-agency rescue effort began November 12 when a portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route collapsed following a landslide, trapping workers inside.
Earlier, many local people had said they believed the under-construction tunnel collapsed due to the wrath of Baba Boukhnag whose temple was demolished for its construction.
After initial efforts to rescue the trapped workers failed, temple priest Ganesh Prasad Bijalwan had earlier said, company officials called him and requested him to perform a special puja.
He performed the puja last week and prayed for the success of the operation to rescue the workers.
The priest had then said, "Uttarakhand is the land of gods. There is a tradition of building a small temple for the local deity before building any bridge, road or tunnel. The work is completed only after taking their blessings."
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Pahalgam terror attack is direct assault on Indian state, the country is one in fighting: Kharge
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday termed the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed as a direct assault on the Indian state, and said that at this moment the entire nation is one with the government to fight the terrorists.
He urged the government to use all its strength to hunt down the terrorists, and also suggested that an all-party meeting be called to address the challenge of terrorism in a spirit of consensus.
"Very unfortunate incident happened in Pahalgam in Jammu & Kashmir and the terrorists dastardly killed innocent and unsuspecting tourists yesterday around 2:30 pm. This has deeply hurt, shocked and saddened us all. The Congress party unequivocally condemns this cowardly act of terror and those responsible for it in the strongest possible terms," Kharge said.
Addressing a press conference here, he said, this attack is a direct assault on the unity and integrity of our nation.
"Since the horrific Chittisinghpura massacre in 2000 this is among the most brazen and outrageous attempts by terrorists and separatists. We firmly reiterate that those who murdered unarmed and innocent civilians cannot be human," he said.
Noting that late last evening he spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Kashmir and to J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdulla and Congress leaders there, and gathered information, the AICC chief said, "Shah told me that they are going to take action drastically in that area."
The Congress Working Committee will meet at 11 am on April 24 at AICC office in New Delhi to discuss the terror attack, he said.
Stating that this is not a time for partisan politics, Kharge said, "it is a moment for collective resolve to ensure justice for those who lost their lives and for their grieving families by bringing the perpetrators of this terror attack to justice."
"In this moment we all are one with the government and together we have to fight such incidents, terrorists and whosoever fights against us. We will be one to save the country and for the country's unity and integrity," he said.
The entire nation is in shock and a Pakistani terrorist organisation has claimed responsibility, Kharge said, "we must give a fitting response and in this matter we are all one and we will fight. But, there should not be claims without doing or without properly managing and finger-pointing."
"We urge the government to use all its strength to hunt down the terrotist, it has been almost 22 hours now. The government must do everything possible to maintain tourists' confidence in the security arrangement of Jammu and Kashmir," he added.
"They should call an all-party meeting and take some advice. This is not politics, and we don't want politics in this situation," he said, adding that the Congress Party is committed to coordination and cooperation with the government to eliminate terrorism from its roots.
Tourists from various parts of the country were present at Pahalgam, and among the victims were Manjunath and Bharat Bhushan from Karnataka who also lost their lives, Kharge said, "I personally spoke to both the grieving wives of the victims and offered my condolences to them."
The Karnataka government has also deputed Labour Minister Santosh Lad, who is meeting victims in J&K, and nearly 200 tourists from Karnataka. He is also arranging flights for them to return, he said, "I also requested J&K CM Omar Abdullah to make arrangements for every tourist who wants to return. The (union) home minister also promised me that he shall also look after that."
Offering his condolences to the families of the deceased, the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha pointed out that the summer season is just beginning, and this is the time when tourists start visiting the region.
"Tourism is the biggest source of income for Jammu and Kashmir's economy and its people. People of Kashmir depend only on tourism. Omar Abdulla told me that this year's economy has collapsed," he said, as he also noted that J&K is a union territory and not fully a state, and the responsibility of the Government of India is more.
Pointing out that the Amarnath Yatra is about to begin in a few days and lakhs of tourists take part in it every year, Kharge said, earlier there have been such attacks in this Yatra also. So the Yatris should be protected well and security should be tightened.
