The rescuers succeeded in forcing a larger, more accommodating pipe through the debris of the collapsed Uttarkashi tunnel, providing additional food, water, and oxygen to the 41 trapped workers—a minor but crucial administrative win.
When he spoke with Pushkar Singh Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also assessed the situation and assured him of the Center’s full support for the rescue efforts. In the meantime, the DRDO has also arrived at the crash scene and is deploying robots and mini-drones to ensure that everything goes according to plan.
The administration is currently carrying out a five-point plan to drill a rescue tunnel for the trapped workers. Vertical drilling will commence from three different points of the hill, reaching the trapped men in 2-3 days, as per the estimation given by Centre.
Uttarkashi’s under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel collapsed on November 12, around 5:30am, trapping 41 workers in the rubble. The rescue operations are being carried out by NDRF, SDRF and other central and state bodies.
