Mandi: The agonising wait of a trapped worker in Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel and his family members came to an end on Tuesday as rescuers evacuated him.
After being trapped in the Silkyara Tunnel of Uttarakhand for 17 days, 41 workers have been rescued safely. Vishal of Bangot village under Balh sub-division of Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh was one of them. As soon as Vishal was safely taken out of the tunnel, his family members got a sigh of relief and celebrated the occasion by bursting crackers at home.
Vishal was trapped in the tunnel on the morning of Diwali. Naturally, his anxious family members could not celebrate Diwali at that time. All the Diwali preparations done at home remained incomplete.
Elated family members not only rejoiced by bursting the crackers, they also played DJ at home where everyone danced to the tunes of the DJ to mark the occasion. Bhajans and kirtans were also performed at home.
Balh MLA Inder Singh Gandhi and APMC chairman Sanjeev Guleria also reached the house and congratulated the family members by offering them sweets. All the family members including Vishal's mother Urmila Devi, grandmother Gavardhanu Devi, maternal uncle Pardamdev and maternal aunt Sumana Devi expressed gratitude to the central and Uttarakhand government for taking Vishal and others out of the tunnel safely. He also thanked the people, who worked day and night to evacuate trapped workers.
At the same time, family members also said they won't allow Vishal to go for tunnel work again. They appealed to the state government to provide employment to Vishal in the state so that he would not have to go anywhere outside the state for his livelihood.
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