A major accident occurred on the day of Diwali in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Here late on Sunday night, a 50 meter portion of the tunnel being built from Silkyara to Dandalgaon on Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway suddenly caved in. There is a possibility of about 40 laborers being trapped in this. Rescue operations are still being carried out to rescue the workers. 

Even now the rescue operation is being carried out here. Earlier the rescue teams were trying to remove the debris from the cavity through short-circuiting machines, but when this was not successful, these machines were also taken out of the tunnel. They were washed and the muck was again brought back 30-40 meters from the cavity area by using a loader in its place. At around 12 o'clock in the night, relief and rescue work is going on at the spot. Approximately 15 meters of debris has been removed. Shortcreting is in progress as initial support, after which drilling for laying 150 mm/200 mm pipe will commence.  

Along with this, the cement and concrete mixture is being transported to the short cut machine by the TM machine and it is being sprayed in the sliding john, so that the debris does not fall down and after that the work of removing the fallen debris can be done. So far, debris has been removed from approximately 15 meter area. 

Deputy SP Prashant Kumar has said in this regard that the machine is working smoothly. Besides, a signal was also given by the trapped laborers through water in the afternoon, which has raised hopes that everyone will be alright. According to the information received so far, 4 workers from Bihar, 2 from Uttarakhand, 3 from Bengal, 8 from UP, 5 from Odisha, 15 from Jharkhand, 2 from Assam and one from Himachal Pradesh are trapped in the tunnel. Navyuga Company is constructing this tunnel. 

CM Dhami is also keeping an eye 

Regarding this incident, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has informed that NDRF, SDRF and other teams of the state are engaged to save the workers. He tweeted and said that he is also keeping an eye on this operation. SDRF, NDRF and state administration teams are working with full force to rescue the workers trapped in the accident that occurred during tunnel construction near Silkyara, Uttarkashi. He himself is also keeping a constant eye on the rescue operation. 

Accident due to landslide  

It is still being said that the accident occurred due to landslide. According to district administration officials, it may take 2-3 days to evacuate the workers. Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Arpan Yaduvanshi has said that all the workers trapped inside the tunnel are safe, and they have oxygen cylinders available. An oxygen pipe has also been brought inside the tunnel. 

The tunnel is part of the all-weather road project. 

This tunnel is part of the All Weather Road Project, its length is 4.5 km. Construction of 4 kilometer tunnel has also been done. Earlier the work of this tunnel was to be completed in September 2023, but the project has been delayed. Now the target has been set to complete it by March 2024. According to the information, in March this year also there was an incident of landslide in this under construction tunnel. 

The distance between Gangotri and Yamunotri will be reduced by 26 km. 

With the construction of this 4.5 km long state-of-the-art tunnel between Silkyara and Jangal Chatti on Yamunotri National Highway, the distance between Gangotri and Yamunotri can be reduced by 26 km. This tunnel is being built at a cost of about Rs 853 crore. Under the supervision of Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), the double lane tunnel is the country's first state-of-the-art tunnel being built using the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). The work of removing debris from the tunnel and making an escape passage to rescue the trapped workers is on war footing.