Page 32 - Uttarakhand

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: New equipment shows some results, raises hopes

A heavy-duty drilling machine bored through 12 metres of rubble of the collapsed tunnel on the Char Dham route in Uttarakhand on Thursday, raising hopes for the rescue of 40 workers trapped inside for over four days. Officials said in the evening that a six-metre section of a steel pipe had been inserted into the bored passage. Another section was being welded into it. The plan is to insert 800 mm- and 900 mm diameter pipes one after the other -- with the help of the giant drill till an escape passage is created for the workers stranded beyond the collapsed portion of the tunnel. After a smaller drilling machine failed to do the job, IAF's C-130 Hercules planes brought the US-made auger machine, in parts, from Delhi to an airport 30 kilometres away on Wednesday. The 25-tonne piece of equipment was installed overnight. Before making this fresh rescue attempt, a puja' was held outside the Silkyara tunnel on Thursday. Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways V K Sing

U'khand tunnel: Operation to evacuate trapped labourers might last 2-3 days

Union minister General V K Singh on Thursday said all efforts are being made for an early and safe evacuation of 40 labourers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in this Uttarakhand district for more than four days, but the rescue operation could take two or three more days. "It (evacuation) can happen even sooner than that but in circumstances like this, we should keep an outer limit of two-three days so that we can deal with an obstacle if it comes," Singh told reporters after visiting the tunnel. "Our priority is that they stay safe. Our priority is that they are evacuated at the earliest. All efforts are being made for that," the Union minister of state for road transport and highways said after reviewing the rescue operation. He said he has spoken to the trapped labourers. "They are safe and their morale is high," Singh added. "The workers are trapped between the collapsed part of the tunnel and a two-km-long area where there is a constant supply of oxygen, electricity, food an

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

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

Uttarakhand tunnel tragedy: India seeks help from Thai cave experts

IAF airlifts 25 tonnes for Uttarakhand rescue amid landslide challenges. Thai and Norwegian teams join efforts to save 40 trapped workers in collapsed tunnel. Watch the video to know what Union Minist

U'khand tunnel collapse: 'American Auger' to be used to save 40 trapped

Drilling to create a passage for 40 workers trapped in an under-construction tunnel that collapsed four days back will resume soon with a new heavy machine, which was flown in from Delhi, officials said here. The 'American auger' machine was airlifted in parts by three IAF transport aircraft on Wednesday to replace the "failed" equipment which was being used earlier to create the passage. These were then brought from the Uttarakhand's Chinyalisaur airport, over 30 kilometres from the Silkyara tunnel on the Char Dham route, and assembled at the site. Installation of the heavy equipment is almost complete and drilling will resume soon, the officials said. The process of installing the new machine began at 11 pm on Wednesday. The labourers are safe, and oxygen, electricity, medicines, food items and water are being constantly supplied to them through pipes, they said. "Ninety-five per cent of installation work is complete," Navayuga Engineering Company Public Relations Officer G L Nat

Tunnel collapse: Workers hold protest over delay in rescuing operations

Workers, family members and others held a protest outside the under-construction tunnel at Silkyara on Wednesday over the delay in rescuing labourers trapped inside for the last three days. The protestors vented their anger over the absence of an alternative plan when the machines deployed for drilling the rubble to prepare an escape passage for trapped labourers did not work on Tuesday evening. Falling debris from a fresh landslide on Tuesday hampered efforts to insert steel pipes through the collapsed part of the tunnel. According to officials, all workers are reported safe, and communication has been established. They are also being provided ration and other essentials through pipes. The arrival of a replacement machine from Delhi is being awaited by rescuers for the resumption of the drilling operation. Nearly 40 workers have been trapped behind debris for over 72 hours since a portion of an under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri

40 trapped in tunnel Collapse in Uttarakhand: Here is what we know so far

Rescue operations are ongoing for 40 trapped workers by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF)

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Protests break out on fourth day of rescue op

Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar told ANI that relief and rescue work was proceeding on war footing, drilling work is being done with auger drilling machine.

Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Technical issues affect rescue operations

The labourers are safe, and oxygen, electricity, medicines, food items and water are being constantly supplied to them, they said

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Six-member expert panel probes incident

Experts included in the committee chaired by Director, Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre to study and investigate the causes of collapse in Silkyara Tunnel.

Jharkhand officials leave for U'khand to help in rescue of trapped workers

A three-member team of Jharkhand government officials have left for Uttarakhand to provide help in the rescue of workers who were trapped after a portion of an under-construction tunnel collapsed, an official said on Tuesday. Around 36 workers, including 10 from Jharkhand, were feared trapped after a portion of an under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand collapsed on Sunday morning. Three government officials, including JAP-IT (Jharkhand Agency for Promotion of Information Technology) CEO Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh, and joint labour commissioners Rajesh Prasad and Robert Lakra, left for Uttarakhand on Monday on the direction of Chief Minister Hemant Soren to provide immediate relief and help in the rescue of workers hailing from the eastern state, an official statement said. The chief minister has wished for the speedy recovery of all the workers trapped in the tunnel.

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: 40 workers trapped, escape route being drilled

A portion of the under construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway collapsed in the early hours of November 12.

U'khand Tunnel collapse: May take 2 more days to rescue trapped labourers

All 40 workers trapped in an under-construction tunnel on the Char Dham route are safe and being sent food and water, authorities assured Monday but said the rescue operation could take up to two more days. A portion of the tunnel under construction between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway collapsed in the early hours of Sunday. All workers trapped are safe and communicating, officials said on Monday as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the site. While oxygen started being supplied to the trapped labourers immediately after the launch of rescue operations on Sunday, they could only get drinking water and light food after contact was first established with them past midnight. Secretary Disaster Management Ranjit Kumar Sinha who visited the tunnel said the trapped labourers could be rescued by Tuesday night or Wednesday. The rescue strategy is now focused on stabilising loose muck by shotcreting (concrete spraying) and pushing in a large

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Tunnel collapse: 'Address ecology in Himalayas for safe development'

Horrific incidents like the partial collapse of an under construction tunnel on the Char Dham route in Uttarkashi's Silkyara would continue to happen if ecological concerns were not addressed, noted environmentalist Ravi Chopra said on Monday. Chopra had resigned last year as the chairman of a Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee on Char Dham all-weather road expressing disappointment over the apex court order limiting the panel's jurisdiction to only two 'non defence' stretches of the project. For development in the Himalayas, it is necessary to first address ecological concerns, he said, adding sustainable development demands approaches that are both geologically and ecologically sound. "Unless this balance is achieved such horrific incidents will continue to happen," Chopra told PTI. A portion of the tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway collapsed in the early hours of Sunday. Rescue operations are being carried out to ...

All trapped workers safe, says CM Dhami on Uttarkashi tunnel collapse

The NDRF teams say they have been able to establish communication with the trapped workers and all of them are in a safe position

PM assured all possible assistance: Dhami takes stock of tunnel collapse

The Chief Minister said that falling debris had created a problem and expressed hope that the stranded workers will be evacuated soon

Under construction tunnel on Yamunotri NH partially collapses, 40 trapped

A portion of a tunnel under construction between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway in Uttarkashi district collapsed in the early hours of Sunday, trapping around 40 workers inside, police said. They said the incident occurred around 4 am when a 150-metre-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed. As soon as information about the incident was received, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Arpan Yaduvanshi immediately reached the spot and launched a relief and rescue operation, police added. National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, fire brigade and employees of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), the organisation that is constructing the tunnel, are at the spot as well, they said. With the construction of this all-weather tunnel under the Char Dham Road Project, the journey from Uttarkashi to Yamunotri Dham will be reduced by 26 kilometres.

In contact with officials, says Dhami as rescue op underway at Yamunotri NH

At least 36 workers are feared to be trapped inside the under-construction tunnel that collapsed on the Yamunotri National Highway, officials said on Sunday

Snowfall continues for 2nd consecutive day in U'khand's Badrinath

Officials said that two inches of snow were recorded in the temple town as the snowfall which started Friday evening continued into the second day