Providing a little relief, the agencies working round the clock to rescue
the 41 workers trapped inside a partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand’s
Uttarkashi district, have installed a six-inch pipe into the debris.
This pipe will help the authorities to pass solid food items to the
trapped workers and ensure better communication.
NHIDCL director Anshu Mansish Khalkho said rescue workers were able to
communicate with the workers through the newly-installed pipe.
“We have achieved our first breakthrough, for which we had been trying
for the last nine days and was our first priority. A 6-inch pipe has been
installed and they (trapped workers) can hear us through it. We will now
provide them with food and medical supplies through that pipe,” he informed.
The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited
(NHIDCL) is one of the many government agencies working on the mega rescue
operation.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has pressed two
robots into the rescue operation.
“DRDO has sent 2 robots weighing 20 kg and 50 kg respectively. The robots
move on the ground. The loose ground there has raised apprehensions whether the
robots will be able to move there or not. Other machinery will be there within
a day or two,” he added.
He said the Border Road Organisation is constructing roads wherever
necessary.
“BRO is constructing roads wherever necessary on this end and the Barkot
end. Roads are ready on both sides, now we are waiting for the machinery. The
machines are very heavy, they cannot be airlifted,” he added.
Agencies
