Uttarakhand: Nation heaves sigh of relief as 17-day long rescue operation ends in success with safe evacuation of 41 workers
Nation has expressed relief as the challenging 17-day multi-agency rescue operation in Uttarakhand ended in success last night with the safe evacuation of all the forty-one workers who were trapped inside Silkyari tunnel.
A part of the under-construction tunnel from Silkyara to Barkot collapsed on the 12th of this month due to a landslide, following which 41 laborers were trapped inside. All state and central government agencies, officers, and employees worked on war footing to make the rescue mission a success.
The trapped workers were provided dry food, meals, oxygen and instruments of communication through a dedicated pipeline. The workers and their families expressed gratitude to the Centre and state government after coming out of the tunnel safely.
Achieving a major success, on the 17th day of the tunnel accident, the 41 workers were finally taken out of the tunnel. The Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed all the individuals by garlanding them. The Prime Minister also spoke to the workers over the phone and asked about their well-being.
All workers are safe, in good health and are being taken care of at the Community Health Center at Chinyalisaur. They are from Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Himachal Pradesh and had been trapped inside the collapsed tunnel since the 12th of this month.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced Rs 1 lakh financial aid to all workers who were trapped in the Silkyara tunnel. He said arrangements will also be made to provide complete medical treatment. It may be recalled that various agencies of the Central and State Government acted quickly and diligently to rescue stranded workers.
The successful outcome of the rescue operation was made possible through the Center’s unwavering cooperation. The Prime Minister’s constant communication and updates by phone added to the effectiveness of the rescue operation. During the entire rescue operation, essential items including food, water, medicines and oxygen were provided to the workers with the help of dedicated four and six-inch pipelines.
