The vertical drilling from the top of the hill makes swift progress as 31
metres of drilling work has been completed so far out of the 86 metres needed
to reach the 41 trapped workers in the Silkyara tunnel, as per officials.
Now the drilling work is being done to lay an 800/900 mm or 1.2 m
diameter pipeline to aid the rescue.
The option to drill vertically was chalked out after the auger machine
being used for horizontal drilling of the tunnel broke down.
According to official sources, the American auger machine that was stuck
in the debris of the tunnel has been completely cut with a plasma cutter.
The front part of the American Auger machine is stuck in the pipeline.
Efforts are underway to remove the debris and the front part of the machine, said
the officials.
In the process of cutting and removing the American Auger machine, a
2-metre portion of the last part of the pipeline (ie, 48 to 50 meters) has also
been twisted.
The officials said cutting and removing the 2-metre portion of the
pipeline is also a big challenge.
Further, they added that it is difficult to give an exact time frame when
the manual drilling work will start.
As per National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation
Limited (NHIDCL), the drilling work is expected to be completed by November 30.
Addressing a press conference in Uttarkashi on Sunday, NHIDCL Managing
Director Mahmood Ahmad said, “We have to drill around 86 meters to be done
within four days that is by November 30. Hopefully, there will be no further
hurdles and the work will be completed on time.”
On the issue of escape passage, Ahmad said, “We too thought about this
issue. A committee has been formed over this and the findings will be out. As
of today, our first goal is to safely bring out our 41 workers.”
A unit of Madras Sappers, an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of
the Indian Army was called in on Sunday for manual drilling at the site.
Thirty personnel of the engineer regiment are already at the spot to
expedite the rescue operations.
For manual drilling, the Indian Army along with civilians will do rat
boring inside the tunnel.
“To do manual drilling, the Indian Army along with civilians will dig out
the debris inside the tunnel with weapons like hands, hammers and chisels and
then the pipe will be pushed forward from the platform built inside the pipe,”
an official said.
After a portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12, the debris falling
in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel trapped 41 labourers
inside the under-construction structure.
ANI
