Uttarakhand govt forms technical committee to study causes of tunnel collapse

The Uttarakhand government has formed a technical committee under the chairmanship of the director Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Center to study and investigate the causes of the collapse of the under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Barkot on Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi district

The committee has been mandated to prepare a report on the incident and submit the same to the state government. According to officials aware of the matter, the committee will have experts from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, the Central Building Research Institute, the Geological Survey of India, and the State Disaster Management Authority.

Forty labourers have been trapped inside the tunnel, and rescue and relief operation is going on at war footing level with food and oxygen being sent to the labourers through a pipeline,

Meanwhile, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who visited the incident site earlier in the day, said evacuating labourers trapped in the tunnel is the top priority of the government.

Dhami went into the tunnel to know the status of relief and rescue operations. During the inspection, he directed the officials to speed up the relief and rescue work.

“It is the top priority of the government to quickly rescue the labourers trapped in the tunnel, for which every possible effort is being made,” he said.

While directing the officers and various agencies engaged in the relief and rescue operations to carry it out with high efficiency and full capacity, with mutual coordination and promptness, the chief minister assured that all kinds of resources and technical assistance required for the operation, are being arranged. “If there is a need, the government will make it available as soon as possible. If any need arises at any level, the government should be informed immediately about the same,” he said.

Dhami said that all possible expert options are being considered for relief and rescue operations. “Arrangements have been made to send large diameter pipes from Haridwar and Dehradun for rescue operations. I am confident that with the grace of God and the tireless efforts of the people involved in the rescue operation, the labourers trapped inside the tunnel will soon be rescued safely,” he said.

Dhami said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought detailed information on the phone regarding the condition of the labourers trapped in the tunnel and the status of the relief and rescue operations. “PM Modi has assured all possible help to deal with this incident. Along with this, instructions have also been given to keep an eye on emerging situation at the site. Central agencies have also been directed to cooperate in relief and rescue operations”.