The workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhan’s Uttarkashi have resorted to a peculiar work. They have been engaged in intense games of ‘chor-police’, teen patti and rummy turning the collapsed tunnel into a playground, according to a TOI report. This is how they are keeping their spirits high.
The Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi collapsed on November 12 in which 41 workers were trapped inside it. While the rescue operation was running on a full speed, the trapped workers had to resort to playing games to reduce stress.
The medical expert on-site has suggested that the workers engage in such activities as they are effective stress-relievers during prolonged entrapments. They have been supplied with essential provisions like food and light by the authorities who are in an effort to alleviate the strain. The workers have also been sent a deck of playing cards to help them keep their spirits high.
To avoid any potential “withdrawal symptoms” among the trapped workers, they also received in the tunnel a stash of khaini which is an edible crushed tobacco widely used in Bihar, Jharkhand and UP.
The lead doctor stationed outside the tunnel, Dr Prem Pokhriyal said that he believes that the workers will emerge physically fine from the tunnel. However, some might experience psychometric changes due to prolonged absence of sunlight, the TOI report mentioned.
On November 12, 2023, the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi collapsed during reprofiling work which trapped around 41 workers.
The 41 tunnel construction workers have been trapped inside the collapsed tunnel for the past 11 days. A multi-agency rescue operation has been launched by the government which is focused on the strategy of horizontal drilling to make an opening for rescuing the workers.