Uttarkashi: On Saturday morning, the broken Auger machine was taken out by the authorities, who have been working nonstop to rescue 41 people who are stuck in a partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi. Today marks the 14th day of the rescue mission, and manual drilling will be used to finish the remaining portion.
The US-made Auger machine’s blades were damaged when they encountered an obstruction once more. In order to fix it, it was taken out of the pipeline. Since there were only a few meters separating the trapped workers and the rescuers, manual drilling was chosen. The heavy duty drillers might be repositioned 22 meters away, according to an anonymous official quoted by ANI. We’ll clean the last 6–9 meters of rubble by hand.
“There are several approaches. There are multiple options… Right now, everything is good. The Augering won’t be visible to you anymore. Auger has been completed. The machine, the auger, has broken. It cannot be fixed. No more using the auger. No more auger drilling. Arnold Dix, a tunneling specialist, stated that a new auger would not be made.
The news agency was informed by a top official that the Auger machine’s recurring malfunctions were causing delays in the workers’ rescue. According to the senior official, the equipment had to be dragged back 50 meters and then pushed forward after repairs each time it encountered an obstacle. The rescuers would lose five to seven hours during the entire process.
“We have to eliminate any obstructions we encounter every two to three feet when using the US-made Auger machine for drilling. Additionally, we have to roll Auger back 50 meters each time we encounter a block (up to which the pipeline has been built). The machine must be pushed back up to 50 meters after running repairs, which takes five to seven hours. This is the reason why the rescue effort is taking longer than it ought to,” the unnamed official told ANI.
“The rescue team has now determined that tiny manual digging distances will be covered to expand the pipeline. The official continued, “Even if we run into a roadblock further up, the problem could be fixed manually and the pipeline could be expanded further without wasting any more time.
There was no time estimate provided by the government for their rescue. Still, they had high hopes for a successful outcome.
The ground-penetrating radar (GPR) method was employed by a team of rescuers to investigate the tunnel. They discovered that nothing weighty could be found within the tunnel’s five meters.
The Auger machine was in a condition of disrepair when it struck an impediment, prompting the team’s call.
In the meantime, the authorities have requested that the Border Roads Organization (BRO) bring machinery to facilitate vertical drilling.
This strategy was talked about when the horizontal drilling equipment from the Silyara side ran into a problem on Friday night.
Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation are expected to make the final decision over the vertical drilling option, according to ANI.
Since the tunnel’s partial collapse on November 12, the 41 workers have been stranded inside. Because they are confined to a 2-kilometer-long constructed area, they are safe. They have been receiving food, drink, medications, and oxygen from the government.
