Workers may be rescued in few hours or by tomorrow: NDMA on Uttarkashi tunnel collapse
New Delhi (PTI): Workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel for the last 11 days are likely to be rescued in the next few hours or by tomorrow, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said on Thursday evening.
The drilling work to pull out 41 trapped workers encountered obstacles, which resulted in a temporary stoppage of rescue efforts.
"I expect that in the next few hours or by tomorrow, we will be successful in this operation," Hasnain said in a media briefing.
The NDMA member also said that the horizontal drilling to rescue workers may face 3-4 more hurdles.
He also noted that it would not be fair to speculate on the timeline for rescue operations as it is just like fighting a war.
Hasnain further said that 41 ambulances, one each for trapped workers, are in place at the tunnel site, and facilities are in place to airlift workers in serious condition.
The men have been trapped for the past 11 days after a portion of the under-construction tunnel on the Uttarakhand Char Dham route collapsed, cutting off its exit.
Rescue operations to evacuate the workers resumed on Thursday morning after an overnight hurdle delayed the drilling by several hours.
Hasnain further said the workers trapped inside are safe, and there is no shortage of light or oxygen. Food, water, clothes and medicines are being supplied to them.
According to him, a better communication channel with the workers has now been established, due to which the authorities, including psychosocial workers, are able to directly talk with the trapped men.
Hasnain said National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are at the site, conducting rehearsal and practice for the recovery of the trapped men.
"When the rescue is done, a medical checkup of workers will be done; anyone with a serious medical condition will be airlifted and flown to AIIMS, Rishikesh," he said.
The NDMA member added, "There was a report of a possible earthquake which had happened, very low-intensity, very low on Richter scale. It was missed by everyone at that particular time."
The NDMA member also said that equipment and resources that were being supplied from different places are continued.
"As soon as the machines arrive, efforts through other means will also start, in the interest of having redundant options available, in case the primary approach through horizontal drilling does not meet with success," he said.
According to the government's latest media bulletin, NHIDCL has resumed horizontal boring from the Silkyara end to rescue workers using an Auger boring machine.
A metallic object (Lattice girder rib) was encountered in the front of the pipe, and the pipe could not be inserted further. Cutting of the metallic object (Lattice Girder rib), using gas cutters, has been completed at 0230 hrs.
The trenchless team entered into pipe manually twice to confirm the clearance of the rescue pipe.
The media bulletin said the pushing of the 9th pipe started at 1310 hrs, and the pipe reached to additional 1.8 metres.
Besides, the fabrication of a protective canopy for the drilling machine is underway.
The government has undertaken a five-option action plan to rescue the workers, and five agencies namely, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Sutluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, Rail Vikas Nigam, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, and Tehri Hydro Development Corporation have been assigned specific responsibilities, working collaboratively with occasional task adjustments for operational efficiency.
THDC has initiated the construction of a rescue tunnel from the Barkot-end, with four blasts already completed, resulting in a 9.10-metre drift. Efforts are being made to carry out three blasts per day.
Equipment for micro tunnelling required for horizontal drilling to rescue labourers has reached the site. Platform likely to be completed by November 24, 2023. The equipment will be set up by November 25, 2023.
Work is underway to create a drift inside the tunnel, with a safe channel established from 180 metres to 150 metres.
The Army is mobilising box culverts for this purpose. Fabrication of frames has started.
BRO has completed the construction of an approach road for vertical drilling by SJVNL and RVNL. It is also building an approach road for ONGC with geological surveys conducted by the oil company. It has also made an access road of 300 metres.
The area of entrapment, measuring 8.5 metres in height and 2 kilometres in length, is the built-up portion of the tunnel, offering safety to the labourers with available electricity and water supply.
Silkyara tunnel, about 30 km from the district headquarters of Uttarkashi and a seven-hour drive from the Uttarakhand capital Dehradun, is part of the ambitious Char Dham all-weather road project of the central government.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
