Tunnel collapse: Options of manual drilling, creating vertical escape route being considered
Uttarkashi (PTI): With the auger machine encountering hurdles in the rubble time and again, rescuers are exploring other options such as drilling the remaining stretch manually or creating a vertical escape passage for the 41 labourers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel for the past 13 days, officials said on Saturday.
Drilling at the collapsed portion of the tunnel to rescue the trapped men was halted again on Friday night after the auger drilling machine faced a hurdle, apparently a metal object, in yet another setback to the multi-agency effort.
Before the brief period of drilling on Friday, 46.8 metres of the 800 mm wide steel pipe had been pushed into the drilled passage -- out of the collapsed stretch estimated to be about 60 metres long. The six-inch wide tube for supplying food and other essential items to the workers had travelled 57 metres.
With one hurdle or the other not letting the auger machine carry out horizontal drilling further and lay steel pipes through the rubble to prepare an escape route for the trapped workers, the option of manual drilling is being considered for the remaining stretch of 10 to 12 metres, an official said.
However, he said, manual drilling takes longer time.
Efforts are also being made to create a vertical escape passage, officials said.
A big drilling machine was moved towards the hill above the tunnel on Saturday morning where two lowest elevation spots have been identified by experts for vertical drilling.
A 1.5-km access road to the top of the tunnel has already been built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) as the option of vertical drilling has been on cards for some time.
Vertical drilling is a more time-consuming and complicated option which demands more exactitude and caution due to narrower space available on top of the tunnel roof, international tunnelling expert Arnold Dicks had said a few days ago.
With mechanical drilling facing hurdles repeatedly and not making desired progress, the relatives of the trapped labourers are losing patience gradually.
"For the last two days we are being assured by officials that they (trapped workers) are being evacuated soon but something or the other happens and the process gets delayed," Devender Kisku from Banka in Bihar whose brother Virender Kisku is among the trapped workers said in a tone of disappointment.
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.
The workers are in a built-up two-kilometre stretch of the tunnel. The trapped workers are being sent food, medicines and other essentials through the six-inch wide pipe.
A communication system has been set up, using the pipe, and the workers' relatives have spoken to them. An endoscopic camera was also pushed through this pipe, allowing rescue workers to see the condition inside.
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Lok Sabha confirms imposition of President's rule in Manipur
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New Delhi (PTI): The Lok Sabha early Thursday adopted a Statutory Resolution confirming the imposition of President's rule in Manipur with opposition supporting the decision but slamming the Centre for the situation in the state.
Replying to a short debate, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the government has taken all possible steps to bring back normalcy in the restive northeastern state.
He said there has been no violence in Manipur in the last four months, adding that talks were on with both Meitei and Kuki communities for a peaceful solution.
"By and large the situation is peaceful. As long as people are in camps, I would not say the situation is satisfactory. The government is taking all possible steps to restore peace in Manipur," he said.
The home minister said the ethnic violence in Manipur had started following an order of the state's high court.
"The day the order came, we sent the central forces by air. There was no delay on our part (in taking action)," he said.
He said, so far, 260 people have died in the violence that started in May 2023 and 80 per cent of them lost their lives within the first month.
Shah said he did not want to compare the violence that had taken place during the tenure of the previous governments but wanted to tell the House about the clashes between the Naga and Kuki communities that took place in the 1990s over five years.
"Sporadic violence continued for a decade where 750 people lost their lives. There were Kuki-Paite clashes in 1997-98 when 352 people were killed. In the Meitei-Pangal clashes in the 1990s, over 100 people died. Neither the then prime minister nor the then home minister visited Manipur," he said.
The home minister said an impression has been given that violence erupted only during the BJP rule, which is not correct.
Earlier, participating in the debate, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said his party supported the resolution but wanted the restoration of peace and stability in the state.
"End insurgency, restore peace and stability, promote dialogue with each other, promote inclusivity," he said.
Sayani Ghosh of the Trinamool Congress said her party too supports the resolution but favours early restoration of peace.
DMK's K Kanimozhi said "divisive" politics should come to an end in Manipur.
"We want normalcy to return, peace and harmony should be restored. We also want the formation of an elected government," she said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant expressed concern over the prevailing situation in Manipur and said peace must be restored.
NCP (SCP) member Supriya Sule said the President's Rule is not good for democracy and sought "strong intervention" of the home minister in bringing back normalcy.
The resolution 'Consideration on the Proclamation issued by the President on the 13th February 2025 under article 356 (1) of the Constitution in relation to the State of Manipur’ was adopted by the House by a voice vote.
The violence started after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised against the high court order.
There have been many efforts from the central government to bring the warring communities to the negotiating table.
