By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Gopeshwar (Chamoli), 18 Aug: The rescue operation at the under‑construction THDC tunnel in Pipalkoti has been completed with the recovery of two more bodies today. With this, all missing workers have been accounted for, bringing the total death toll in the accident to 10. Rescue teams have successfully evacuated all the trapped and missing labourers after days of continuous effort.
The accident had occurred on 13 August when debris fell inside the Vishnugad‑Pipalkoti project tunnel, trapping 22 workers in total. During the rescue operation, 12 injured workers were rescued earlier and are being provided medical treatment, while the remaining ten were found dead. The operation involved coordinated efforts by district administration, police, SDRF, NDRF, THDC and other agencies, who worked tirelessly under difficult conditions to remove debris, drain water and clear machinery from the tunnel.
Modern equipment including suction pumps was deployed to drain water and sludge, enabling teams to reach the inner sections of the tunnel. District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar monitored the operation continuously, ensuring coordination among all agencies. The administration’s top priority was to rescue and recover all trapped workers, which was achieved through the relentless efforts of the teams.
Medical assistance was provided to all the evacuated workers, with those requiring treatment sent to hospitals and where they are still reported to be under treatment. The injured workers including Sunil Diwan from Chhattisgarh, Harbil Gudia from Tapra, Nistar Bhingra from Jharkhand, Vinod Ravna from Jharkhand, Dina Begra from Jharkhand, Khela Ram Bisra from Jharkhand, Subeg Singh from Punjab, Tilakraj from Himachal Pradesh, Chandan Kumar from Bihar, Pen Singh from Chhattisgarh, Rohit Pandey from Bihar and Govindo Mandal from West Bengal are currently undergoing treatment at Base Hospital Srinagar and District Hospital Gopeshwar.
The deceased workers have been identified as Pradeep Panwar from Tehri Garhwal, Mukesh Singh from Chamoli, Durlabh Sharma from Uttar Pradesh, Vijay Hansda from Uttar Pradesh, Jitendra Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, Lokeshwar from Chhattisgarh, Bhuneshwar from Chhattisgarh, Lukas Topno from Jharkhand, Chetan Poyam from Chhattisgarh and Devnath from Chhattisgarh.
The rescue operation involved crucial participation of ITBP teams from Joshimath and Gauchar, the Army from Joshimath, NDRF, SDRF, DDRF, police, revenue department and CISF. All agencies worked with close coordination and determination under challenging circumstances to complete the mission. The district administration has expressed gratitude to all rescue agencies, security forces, departments and personnel for their collective efforts in bringing the operation to a close.
According to the top government officers, a probe is underway to determine the real cause behind the landslide inside the tunnel. It remains to be seen however, if the construction agency, M/s Hindustan Construction Ltd, THDC are also held accountable for the accident. It may be recalled that while the government has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakhs each to each bereaved family and the THDC has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakhs each, questions have been raised by independent organisations over the amount of ex-gratia payment announced especially by THDC.
