DEHRADUN: Never in his wildest of dreams did 24-year-old Pushkar Singh think that the Silkyara tunnel accident, which grabbed global attention due to its prolonged and complicated rescue operation, would turn out to a lifesaver for him.
Hailing from Champawat, Singh, who happened to be one among the 41 labourers trapped in the tunnel for 17 days, was unaware of his congenital heart defect. After their rescue on November 29, the survivors were taken to AIIMS for medical examination, where the doctors discovered that he had a hole in his heart.
According to officials in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), during the health examination, cardiologist Dr Varun Kumar learnt about the problem first while performing an echocardiography. Unaware of his illness, Singh had reached Uttarkashi from Champawat in search of employment.
After the identification of the defect in his heart, specialists at AIIMS decided to conduct an open-heart surgery. The procedure took place a week ago, and Pushkar is currently in good health and was discharged on Friday. Dr Kumar shared the information with Dr Anshuman Darbari, a senior surgeon in the cardiovascular department.
On learning about it, the institute’s director, Prof Meenu Singh ensured coordination with the medical professionals regarding Pushkar’s health. “Pushkar’s courage and the hard work of experienced doctors at AIIMS resulted in the complete success of the highly complex open-heart surgery,” said Dr Kumar.
Dr Anshuman Darbari, a senior surgeon in the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) department at AIIMS, said had Pushkar had not reached AIIMS, he would never have learnt about his heart condition which could have proved fatal in the long run.
Although he had gone to Uttarakhand for employment, getting stuck in a tunnel brought him to AIIMS with other labourers, changing his fate. This unexpected turn of events not only saved his life but also allowed him to overcome a significant challenge in his life.
Notably, on November 12, 2023, a section of the Silkyara Bend–Barkot tunnel, a project to connect National Highway 134 in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, caved in while under construction. As many as 41 workers were trapped inside the tunnel. After several failed attempts, the government finally brought in “rat-hole” miners who, with their manual mining methods, succeeded in rescuing the trapped workers.
Specialists conducted open-heart surgery
After the identification of the defect in his heart, specialists at AIIMS decided to conduct an open-heart surgery. Pushkar is currently in good health and was discharged on Friday. Although he had gone to Uttarakhand for employment, getting stuck in a tunnel brought him to AIIMS with other labourers, changing his fate.This unexpected turn of events not only saved his life but also allowed him to overcome a significant challenge in his life.