Tunnels being built in Uttarakhand to be reviewed: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami. Pic/X@pushkardhami

All tunnels being constructed in Uttarakhand will be reviewed, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Thursday after drilling began at the Silkyara tunnel with a heavy duty machine to rescue 40 labourers trapped there for four days, reported news agency PTI.

"The NHIDCL (National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited), which comes under the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, was monitoring the tunnel even after its construction. We need such tunnels and many of them are under construction. However, for the future, we will review wherever such tunnels are being constructed," Dhami said, replying to a reporter's question, reported PTI.

The chief minister was asked whether there will be an inquiry into the irregularities that have surfaced in the construction of the tunnel after parts of it caved in on Sunday, reported PTI.

"We are studying the carrying capacity of our towns. Alongside that we will also review the tunnels being built in the state," he said, reported PTI.

Several tunnels are to be built in the hill state as part of the ongoing Rs 12,000-crore Char Dham all-weather road project, reported PTI.

The Silkyara tunnel, portions of which collapsed on Sunday morning following a landslide, is also part of the ambitious project, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, a heavy-duty drilling machine flown in by the IAF from Delhi began boring through the rubble of a collapsed tunnel on the Char Dham route in Uttarakhand Thursday, in a fresh attempt to create an escape passage for 40 workers trapped inside for four days, reported PTI.

Workers outside the Silkyara tunnel performed a puja before the America-made auger machine began work, reported PTI.

Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways V K Singh had arrived at the site to take stock of the rescue operation when the drilling by the new machine began, reported PTI.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) had flown in the equipment in parts on their C-130 Hercules transport planes to an airstrip 30 kilometres away, after previous efforts to insert steel pipes into the rubble with the help of a smaller auger machine failed, reported PTI.

"I have been told that the new drilling machine has already penetrated 5-7 metres through the debris. We hope it would soon reach the trapped workers, drilling at the rate of 5-10 metres every hour," Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami told reporters in Dehradun, reported PTI.

Officials had earlier said that a 30-40 metre stretch of the under-construction had collapsed on Sunday. The collapsed section is 270 metres from the mouth of the tunnel from the Silkyara side, reported PTI.

The workers are stranded on the other side of debris. They are safe, and being provided with oxygen, electricity, medicines, food items and water through pipes, Navayuga Engineering Company's spokesperson G L Nath said. The company is building the tunnel on behalf of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), reported PTI.

Sections of mild steel pipes of 800-mm and 900-mm diameter will be inserted -- one after the other -- into the drilled passage. Once this happens, the workers trapped inside can crawl out to safety, reported PTI.

A six-bed makeshift health facility has been set up and 10 ambulances with expert doctors stationed outside the tunnel to provide immediate medical care to the trapped workers after their evacuation, officials said, reported PTI.

The state government is providing all support to the technical experts supervising the rescue operations on the spot, Dhami said and added that they are in touch with international specialists, reported PTI.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is constantly monitoring the situation, reported PTI.

The Uttarakhand government has decided to review all under-construction tunnels in the state, Dhami said, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)