UMERKOTE: Family members of Bhagaban Bhotra are anxiously waiting for the 28-year-old’s rescue from the under-construction road tunnel that collapsed at Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand on November 12.
A native of Talbeda village under Jabaguda panchayat in Nabarangpur’s Dabugaon block, Bhagaban is among the 40 workers trapped in the rubble of the collapsed tunnel since the last five days. Initially, family members were unaware of Bhagaban’s plight. However, they came to know about the incident from media and since then, are spending sleepless nights and hoping for his safe rescue.
Bhagaban had gone to Uttarakhand to earn his livelihood as a labourer. He was reportedly engaged as a helper at the tunnel project site by a private engineering company of Andhra Pradesh for the last one year.Bhagaban’s father Jaladhar is mentally-challenged. Of his three brothers, one is also working as a labourer outside Odisha. The rest two are residing in the village.
“Since we received news of Bhagaban being trapped in the tunnel, the entire family is worried. We appeal to the state government to take steps for his safe rescue and return to Odisha,” elder brother Saitu Bhotra said.
Incidentally, five persons from Paras Dhanua village in Kosagumuda block of Nabarangpur were also working at the tunnel project site as construction workers. Luckily, all of them came out moments before the entrance of the tunnel collapsed.