Tunnel collapse: 6-inch-wide pipe pushed through rubble to send food

Rescuers on Monday pushed through a six-inch-wide pipeline through the collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand in order to supply larger quantities of food and other essentials to the workers trapped for the past eight days.

Earlier, a four-inch tube was being used to supply food such as dry fruit, medicines and oxygen into the section of the tunnel beyond the rubble. The new pipeline will help supply food items such as roti and sabji to the workers.

Anshu Manish Kalkho, director of National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), termed it the "first breakthrough" at the site. "We have sent the pipe 53 m to the other side of the rubble, and the trapped workers can hear and experience us," Kalkho said.

A portion of the under-construction tunnel in Silkyara village in Uttarkashi district, part of the Char Dham all-weather road project, collapsed due to a landslide on November 12, trapping 41 workers. The vertical drilling was halted on the evening of November 19 after hitting a snag to ensure the safety of the workers trapped inside.

Sources said that the workers will be rescued in the next 4-5 days, seeing the progress of the vertical drilling.

Union Minister of Road and Transport Nitin Gadkari reached the site of the collapse and said that the Centre will offer its full assistance to rescue those who are trapped in the next couple of days.

Uttarakhand Congress criticised the state government for the delay in rescuing the workers. They urged for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation, which the high court should also supervise. Yashpal Arya, leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader, said, "The accountability of the government and officials should be fixed. Action should be taken against the erring officials. A CBI inquiry under the supervision of the court should be instituted if the government has nothing to hide."