The operations to rescue 40 men trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi suffered a setback as the auger machine meant to drill through the debris and install steel pipes proved insufficient in doing so. Officials told The Indian Express that the machine that was brought from Dehradun to place the 900 mm mild steel pipes for the men to crawl out failed to drill through the rubble.
“Under plan 2, we are first installing a 125 mm pipe for air, food, camera and communication. That pipe is already 12 metres in. Also, state-of-the-art, American-made horizontal dry drilling equipment with auger is on its way (from Delhi) on two Hercules C-130 planes. The planes will make a total of three rounds to carry the equipment,” Bhupendra Singh, DGM, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, told The Indian Express.
Also Read: Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Locals and workers stage protest over delay in rescue operations
The official said that he was confident of the success of the second plan. “We are almost certain this plan will work. If not, the final option will be conventional drilling using the pipe roof umbrella method. Under that, we will build an entire tunnel and it will take five-six days as it goes just around 10 metres a day. However, we are sure it will not come to that and the second plan will work,” he added.
The rescuers sought bigger equipment from Delhi after the earlier auger machine provided by Vardhman Engineering Works failed to cut through the debris at high speed. According to Adesh Jain, owner of Vardhman Engineering Works, his machine is 35 HP (horsepower) and weighs 9 tonnes, while the new machine is 175 HP and considerably heavier. The platform to support both the machines is also different.
Locals stage protest over delay in rescue
Workers and locals staged protests against the administration and the construction company as the rescue operation entered Day 4 today, accusing the administration of not doing enough to rescue those trapped inside the tunnel. On Sunday, a part of the tunnel being built between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway caved in following a landslide. The 30-metre collapsed section is 270 metres from the mouth of the tunnel from the Silkyara side, the State Emergency Operation Centre in Dehradun said.
The 4.5-km tunnel is being constructed by Navayuga Engineering Company under the supervision of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). The tunnel, planned under the all-weather road project, was expected to be completed by next February.
A team of 160 rescuers from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Border Roads Organisation, Rapid Action Force and the health department have been on the spot since Sunday.
According to a list of the trapped workers issued by the District Emergency Operation Centre, 15 are from Jharkhand, eight from Uttar Pradesh, five from Odisha, four from Bihar, three from West Bengal, two each from Uttarakhand and Assam, and one from Himachal Pradesh.
on Tuesday, a fresh landslide hampered efforts to insert steel pipes through the rubble of the collapsed tunnel to bring out the 40 labourers trapped under the debris. The falling debris, caused a stampede-like situation, due to which two rescue workers were injured, who were sent to the makeshift hospital established on the site, reported PTI.
(With agencies)