DEHRADUN: The teams engaged in the operation to rescue 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand for the last 16 days are intensifying their efforts with manual horizontal digging set to begin in addition to the vertical drilling taking place.
A source from the temporary media centre set up at Silkyara said, "By late Monday evening, 38 metres had been drilled vertically over the tunnel." The damaged pipe pieces of the Auger machine trapped in the 800 mm pipe during horizontal drilling have also been successfully removed, while the blasting work from the other end of the tunnel, Badkot, is also in progress.
Speaking to reporters on Monday evening at the temporary media centre set up at Silkyara, National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) MD Mehmood Ahmed said, "We have completed the 1.2-metre diameter vertical drilling undertaken by the Satluj Jal Vidhyut Nigam limited (SJVNL) team over the tunnel to 36 metres." A total of 86 metres of drilling is to be done.
"Since it becomes technically mandatory to replace a rig as an option after drilling 40-45 metres for safety reasons, and the process takes 15 to 20 hours, it is not possible to reach the stranded workers before Thursday," said an official source.
Dr Neeraj Khairwal, nodal officer of relief and rescue operations in Silkyara and Secretary to the Uttarakhand government, told mediapersons, "The work of cutting the blades and shafts of the Auger machine stuck in the pipe has been completed and the work of removing the 'head' of the Auger machine has also been completed." Earlier, 1.9 metres of the damaged pipe was cut, now the pipe has been pushed 0.9 metres forward while working manually.
After removing the 'head' of the Auger machine trapped inside the tunnel, a team of 'rat miners' who specialize in excavation will carry out manual digging here. The army will help the special team in this work. "Once manual digging starts, up to one metre can be drilled per hour," NHIDCL Managing Director Mehmood Ahmed said.
Along with vertical drilling over the tunnel, an eight-inch drill is also being conducted here to detect the 'nature of the rock' along with the 'soil profile' inside the ground.
Meanwhile, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P K Mishra reached Silkyara on Monday to take stock of relief and rescue operations and inquired about the food being provided to the labourers trapped in the tunnel. Mishra held a meeting with Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Dr S S Sandhu to discuss the future course of action.
Principal Secretary Mishra spoke to some of the stranded workers through the audio communication set-up installed by the SDRF in the tunnel and the telephonic communication system installed by BSNL.