Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Kin pray for safe return of 8 workers from U.P.

Families of six from Shravasti wait with bated breath

Shravasti Relatives of 41 labourers trapped in a portion of the 4.5km Silkayara Barkot tunnel in the Uttarkashi district, are eagerly waiting outside the tunnel area to meet their loved ones as they hope the rescue operation would be finished on Thursday by 10 or 11 pm.

It may be noted that out of 41 trapped men, eight are from Uttar Pradesh. Among them, six are from Shravasti, one from Lakhimpur Kheri and one from Mirzapur.

Talking to HT over phone, Ashok Kumar, 22, said his elder brother Santosh Kumar, 24, has been trapped inside the tunnel since November 12.

He said chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the rescue site on Thursday and inquired with the authorities about the rescue work, but he had no conversation with the families of the workers. Ashok said he had not talked to his brother for the last two days as the security men denied them entry to the tunnel site.

Ramji, a resident of Motipur Kalan village of Shravasti said he was very excited to meet his elder brother Ram Milan, 32, who is also trapped inside the tunnel. He said as the rescue process was being undertaken at war level and if everything goes positive, hopefully all the labourers would be rescued by Thursday night.

Arun Kumar Misra, nodal officer of the relief and rescue operation from Uttar Pradesh said the work would have been finished by Wednesday night and a last pipe was to be sent into the tunnel; but a shuttering that was previously installed to cast the tunnel, collapsed along with the debris.

Misra said the rescue team had cut off all the rocks and debris but now they have to deal with thick iron rods and iron shuttering. Now the rescue team has sent a jawan of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) along with an oxygen cylinder and gas cutter to cut the thick iron rod and shuttering. The NDRF man has to enter a 700 mm pipe along with an oxygen cylinder and all other cutting material which is a tough task. At the same time, he has to cut the iron rod into small pieces and then send back all the small iron debris from the same pipe.

The same process was being done for the past several hours. On being asked, Misra said all the relatives and the administration are ready and any time the labourers could come out, but the time is not yet fixed, Misra added.

It may be noted that Satydev, 44, Ankit Kumar, 25, Santosh Kumar, 24, Ram Milan, Ram Sundar, 26, and Jay Prakash, 22, all residents of Motipur Kalan district of Shravasti were trapped in the Silkyara Barkot tunnel after a portion of the tunnel collapsed on the National Highway in Uttarkashi district on November 12.

Manjeet’s family wishes to have him back safe and sound

Family of 22-year old Manjeet Chaudhary of a remote Bhairampur village near India-Nepal border in Nighasan tehsil in Lakhimpur Kheri district, has been living between hope and suspense for the past twelve days.

His father Chaudhary Chauhan, with poor eyesight, along with his younger brother Shatrohan rushed to Uttarkashi to keep a tab on the rescue work going on while his mother Kamla Chaudhary and two sisters Chunni Devi and Lachha Devi keep themselves glued to their TV set with prayers on their lips for safe release of Manjeet and 40 others.

Technology and prayers are the two things which is keeping the family hopeful about the successful rescue operation at the tunnel.

The video clips of the trapped labourers released a couple of days back provided them with much-needed relief about the safety of their son and their only wish is to have Manjeet beside them.

While reports on Wednesday about the rescue operation nearing its conclusion within a few hours filled them with hopes, a fresh report of some technical glitch on Thursday further prolonged their wait.

Manjeet’s mother Kamla Devi with teary eyes and folded hands found herself unable to express her emotions. However, she said, “We lost our eldest son Deepu last year in Mumbai in an accident where he had gone to earn livelihood and we can’t afford any other tragedy.”

She expressed hope that “her son and others would soon join their families as government and the engineers were making best of the efforts.”

Manjeet Chaudhary is one of the 41 labourers who have been trapped inside Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi of Uttarakhand state since November 12.

Manjeet along with four to five fellow villagers had gone to Uttarkashi in October last year to work as a labourer.

However, while his fellow-villagers returned to celebrate Diwali, Manjeet stayed back to collect his dues and later got trapped in the tunnel.

Kin pray for speedy rescue of Akhilesh

Kin of workers trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi for the past 12 days are praying for their safe rescue.

Among the 41 labourers, one Akhilesh Singh, is a resident of Gharwaspur village of Adalhat area of Mirzapur district who is trapped with other workers.

Akhilesh’s mother Anju Singh said that her brother Vijay Singh has been working in a company in Uttarakhand for the last many years. On Monday night, he spoke to the authorities and informed them that Akhilesh was safe and food and water was being supplied to the trapped workers through a pipe. Efforts are on to rescue them.

She said that she was informed on Wednesday evening that rescue operation has been expedited and that Akhilesh is safe. She said that she is feeling a bit consoled.

“We are praying to God for speedy rescue of all workers, including my son Akhilesh,” said Anju, and added, “We are eagerly waiting for him.”

Akhilesh is the eldest among four siblings and he is married to Nidhi. His father Ramesh Kumar Singh is a farmer. The family lives in Gharwaspur village and his grandfather Beni Prasad Singh is almost 80 years old.