Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Top official admits lapse, says absence of hume pipes making rescue efforts difficult

The outgoing general manager of NHIDCL, colonel Deepak Patil admitted that hume pipes, which were earlier laid in sensitive and critical areas inside the tunnel, were taken off this time as he could not not foresee the danger coming.

Uttarkashi: The absence of hume pipes, which were supposed to have been laid at the Uttarkashi tunnel, could have made the rescue effort of the miners trapped inside the tunnel easy.

Workers, who are engaged at the tunnel site but escaped being trapped in the mishap, said that the hume pipes kept in the dumpers were used in sensitive parts of the tunnel but these pipes had not been laid at the tunnel this time.

As many as 40 labourers from seven states have been stranded at the Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel for the past two days. Usually, when the tunnel was closed due to a landslide earlier, the workers trapped inside came out safely through the hume pipe. Hume pipes were also being used in the under-construction Silkyara Tunnel, but on the day of the accident, hume pipes were not laid in the sensitive part.

The outgoing general manager of NHIDCL, colonel Deepak Patil said that it was his idea to lay the hume pipe in the tunnel. These hume pipes are laid in lines at sensitive and critical areas inside the tunnel. He said no one had any idea of such an incident this time and due to this, hume pipes were not laid.

After the incident occurred, the rescue operation was mounted at the spot. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Pushkar Singh Dhami are continuously seeking updates on the rescue operation. Along with the state level, central agencies are also busy in mobilising rescuers trapped in the tunnel.

Authorities said they are in touch with workers on walkie-talkies. The workers asked for food from the team engaged in the rescue operation. Small packets of gram and dry food have been sent to them through the pipeline.

Debris of up to 25 metres removed

The work of removing debris from the tunnel is also going on in full swing. As the debris is being removed from the JCB, more debris is falling. It is causing big problems in the rescue work. Out of the debris spread within a radius of 60 meters, 25 metres of debris has been removed so far.

CO of operations Prashant Kumar said workers trapped inside the tunnel have been given water, and packets of gram and dry food have been sent to the workers through the pipeline.