Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand): As repeated hurdles are cropping up in the drilling with auger machine in the Sylkyara tunnel rescue, the experts have decided to go for manual drilling in the final stretch which is considered to be feasible. It was found that the auger drilling machine is damaged and that alternative steps are needed to carry forward the rescue operations, sources said.
On Friday, further delay was caused in the rescue operations as the drilling works hit a technical snag yet again. The 41 workers remain trapped inside the tunnel after its 60-metre stretch collapsed, leaving no escape passage for them to come out. Official sources said that the auger drilling machine appeared to have hit a hard metallic material just hours after drilling resumed yesterday.
As part of the new plan, the engineers will first get the heavy auger machine removed from the pipeline to pave the way for manually drilling the remaining portion of the collapsed tunnel so as to reach the trapped workers.
Earlier on Thursday night, the drilling works had to be halted after cracks developed on the platform on which the 25-tonne auger machine was mounted and the problem arose because of the vibrations being caused during drilling. The rescue works had to be stopped yet again at a time when the officials were hoping they were about to save the trapped workers from the tunnel entrapment.
The engineers and officials engaged in the multi-agency rescue operations are employing a ground penetrating radar (GPR) for the first time to detect whether any hard unbreakable metal objects are lying in the drilling path.
Meanwhile, the officials have made arrangements to shift the rescued workers to medical facilities through a green corridor without wasting any time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami about the progress of rescue works. CM Dhami has been monitoring the rescue operations and he visited the disaster site.
Drilling was started with the US auger machine at 4.30 pm on Friday. But after drilling one meter, rebar and iron pipes obstructed the drilling machine. Due to this, drilling had to be stopped for rescue. The 800 mm diameter hume pipes were close to the trapped workers but some parts got broken due to the thick rebar in the debris getting stuck in the auger machine cutter.
10 meters of drilling left: General Manager of NHIDCL, Colonel Deepak Patil, said that the drilling work is being affected due to repeated obstructions of iron objects. He said that till now drilling has been done till 47 meters and 10 meters more yet to be done. Since the morning of 12th November Diwali, 41 laborers have been trapped in the tunnel under construction as part of the Uttarakhand Chardham Road Project. All the major disaster management experts of the country and those from other countries are involved in rescue operations.
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