Day 5 of Rescue Mission
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 16 Nov: Several pertinent questions have arisen after the landslide in the under-construction tunnel at Silkyara on the Yamunotri Highway in district Uttarkashi. After the mishap that happened on Sunday, questions have been raised by people, political leaders as well as by geological experts on the future of the tunnel. There are experts who feel, especially in the wake of the preliminary report submitted by the Experts Committee constituted by the government to find out the reasons behind the landslide, that the tunnel may have to be abandoned or drilled afresh. The team of experts in its report has found that drilling was carried out not only in the hard rock but also in soft rocks in the tunnel under construction. This is the chief reason behind the landslide. In addition, the experts also feel that in case further blasting and boring is carried out, new incidents of landslide may occur. Besides this, expectedly, most environmentalists have raised serious objections to construction of Char Dham roads and they claim that it is being carried out in violation of the environmental concerns in the Himalayan region.
On the other hand, some technical experts also feel that the companies engaged in the construction of the tunnel have committed some technical errors during the course of the construction. They feel that instead of using 34 mm iron bars to concretise the walls of the tunnel, girders should have been used. They also feel that HUME pipes should have been laid along with the initial drilling of the tunnel, itself, so that any such incident could have been dealt with more easily. Now it has become a challenge to drill and insert the pipes through the debris that that has blocked the tunnel and reach out to the trapped workers.
Some sources have also claimed that the state government has learnt a few lessons from the accident and it has been decided that construction of all the tunnels in the state will now be done under its direct supervision. It is also being claimed that a fresh Detailed Project Report (DPR) may be prepared for Silkyara tunnel to carry out corrective measures to prevent further landslides and to complete the construction.
It may be recalled here that there is an estimated distance of 60 metres in the tunnel where the workers are trapped, where a path is being drilled by inserting steel pipes of 900 mm with the help of the Auger machines. The auger drilling machines being used for two days had developed technical snags. Thereafter the state government had called up Prime Minister’s Office and 25 ton imported auger drilling machines were brought to the site in 3 Hercules Aircraft of the Indian Air Force. After preparing the platform and installing the machines today, drilling has begun with these new machines that have been imported from the US.
Meanwhile Colonel Patil, who has been brought back to the project as the rescue consultant by the state government after being relieved only days ago has informed that alternate plans are also ready to deal with any emergent situation. He conceded that the first plan to drill the pipes with the help of the auger machines which were not that heavy had failed.
Meanwhile, some of the workers trapped inside the tunnel have spoken to their family members with the help of Uttarakhand Police over walkie talkies. The workers trapped inside are reported to be safe. Food, water, oxygen and medicines and even other consumables are being supplied to them through pipes. The technical experts present on the site have stated that the rescue teams may be able to reach the workers in a matter of next 15 to 24 hours. At the same time, teams of technical experts from across the country are also keeping a tab on how the rocks inside the tunnel behave during the rescue operation with the help of special cameras that have been installed in the tunnel.
All the parts of the 25 ton Auger drilling machines were delivered to the Silkyara tunnel late last night and the assembling and installation of the machines had begun immediately. The installation was complete by this afternoon. The biggest challenge is the possibility of more debris falling inside the tunnel. Sources claim that thickness of the debris, which was initially 40-50 metres of tunnel length, has now gone up to 70 metres because more debris has fallen.
