CHANDIGARH: A machine operator, Gurpreet Singh, from Tarn Taran district of Punjab, is trapped along with seven others in the partially collapsed section of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in the Nagarkurnool district of Telangana.
Singh's family is torn between hope and despair, clinging to the possibility that he might still be found alive. His wife, Rajwinder Kaur, last spoke to him on Saturday before he left for work. As the sole breadwinner, his absence has left them in deep uncertainty. He had come home some three weeks ago when his father-in-law had passed away.
Singh has been working as a machine operator for last 20 years in Telangana.
His wife Rajwinder Kaur has been praying since she heard the news that her husband was trapped in the collapsed tunnel. "It felt as though darkness descended before my eyes," she said.
Staring at her phone hoping it will ring with her husband on the other side, Kaur recalls her last conversation with her husband before he left for work.
He has two daughters Sumanpreet Kaur (16) and Ramandeep Kaur (13).
"Every day he used to video call us early in the morning and both our daughters would get up hearing their father's voice. Now there has been no call since Saturday," Kaur breaks down while speaking.
She is praying for her husband's return but she worries how she will take care of their daughters and her ailing mother-in-law if the worst happens. The family relies on only an acre of land and that is why Singh was working in Telangana to support them. Kaur said her husband had been working on such projects for over 15 years, but this was the first time such an incident happened.
Singh's mother, Darshan Kaur is spending her days praying for her son's return.
Sukhdev Singh, a friend and former co-worker of Gurpreet said that he (Gurpreet) started as a labourer and, over time, was promoted to a machine operator for the company.
Not only the relatives of Gurpreet but also a large number of villagers gathered at his house, joining in prayers for his safe return.
