Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Kin of trapped workers grapple with anxiety and hope

Aakash Negi (17) is anxious as he managed to speak to his father Gabbar Singh Negi (51) for only a minute through the water pipeline that was laid for construction purposes. His father is among the 40 workers trapped inside the under-construction Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi since Sunday.

“He told me he is well and asked me not to worry. I asked him if he ate anything,” Aakash said. He stepped aside and dialled his mother in Bishanpur Kumbhichor village of Kotdwar (Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand) to inform her about her husband’s well-being. “She (my mother) can’t stop calling us to know about father ever since we arrived here at midnight… The call doesn’t connect every time… There is patchy network here,” he said.

After hanging up on the call, he again goes and fixes his eyes at the entrance of the tunnel, hoping for a swift evacuation of his father who has been trapped inside for over 55 hours. As heavy machinery and pipes enter the tunnel as part of desperate rescue measures to evacuate the trapped workers, he hardly blinks.

“I will stay here until my father comes out safely,” he said as his uncle asked him to not lose hope.

“We have been told by officials that everything, from food, water to medicines, is being taken care of... But he is in a confined zone… That’s makes us fearful,” the worried son said.

“Some say it would take 24 more hours to take my brother and other trapped labourers outside the tunnel, others say 48 hours. We have not been given any satisfactory answer by the administration and rescue teams about the operation,” Maharaj Singh, Aakash’s uncle, said.

He further says, “We initially didn’t know that my brother is among those who are trapped inside... We received no intimation from the government or administration. We saw the news of the tunnel collapse on the TV on Diwali night. It was only after my daughter conveyed to us (after searching on the internet) that we came to know.”

Staying at a facility arranged by the administration near the tunnel, Maharaj Singh, a retired army personnel, said, “We are not able to eat…who can, if such circumstances arise in family.”

As the rescue operations enter the third day, apprehensions within the Negi household mount.

“It’s been 55 hours, but we have not received any satisfactory answer from the rescue teams and officials as to when my brother will be brought out,” he said.

Debu Batra, a worker involved in the tunnel construction who was in the day shift (workers from the night shift are trapped inside), is in constant touch with the family of trapped worker Bhagwan Batra, who hails from Odisha.

“We have to make a queue to speak to the trapped labourers. I spoke to him for just seconds at 6am this morning… He (Bhagwan) told me to convey to his family in Odisha that he is fine and will come out soon,” Debu Batra said.