Prime Minister Narendra Modi dialled Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday and took inputs on the ongoing rescue efforts at the partially-collapsed Silkyara tunnel. Workers have been trapped in the tunnel for eight days.
Tweeting about the conversaton, Dhami said, “Prime Minister @narendramodiji took information through telephone about the relief and rescue operations conducted to safely rescue the workers trapped in the tunnel under construction near Silkyara.” Dhami added that necessary equipment and resources are being provided by the Centre. “Central and state agencies are engaged in relief and rescue operations with mutual coordination and promptness,” he said.
“The workers trapped in the tunnel are safe and they are being provided oxygen, nutritious food and water. Experts' opinion is also being sought for relief and rescue operations. Every effort is being made to rescue all the workers trapped inside the tunnel quickly and safely,” Dhami added. In a release, the CMO said, “The prime minister said it is necessary to maintain the morale of the trapped workers. This is the third time that the prime minister has spoken to Dhami about the rescue operations being carried out at the tunnel.”
The Silkyara tunnel, about 30 km from the district headquarters of Uttarkashi and a seven-hour drive from the Uttarakhand capital Dehradun, is part of the ambitious Char Dham all-weather road project of the central government.
Tunnelling expert and President of International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association Arnold Dix reached the tunnel site on Monday and reviewed rescue efforts. “We are going to get those men out. Great work is being done here. Our whole team is here and we are going to find a solution and get them out. A lot of work is being done here. It is important that not only the men rescued but also the men who are rescuing are safe. The whole world is helping. The team here is fantastic. The plans are looking fantastic. The work is very systematic. The food and the medication are being provided properly", Dix told ANI.