Cooch Behar: Finally the grueling wait got over with Manik Talukdar reaching home to a grand welcome. The whole village gathered at the Talukdar household. The scene was nothing short of a festival with the blowing of conch, ‘dhak and dhol’ and offering garlands.
About 41 workers from different states, including three from Bengal were trapped for 17 days inside the Silkyara Tunnel of North Kashi, which collapsed on November 14.
Manik Talukdar from Cooch Behar is an electrician who was working in the tunnel for a Hyderabad-based company.
Manik reached his house at Balrampur in Cooch Behar district at around 5:45 pm on Friday. As soon as Manik Talukdar arrived, the villagers broke out into celebration by bursting crackers, ringing bells and playing other musical instruments and garlanding him.
His wife Soma Talukdar handed him a flower bouquet. Nakul Mondal, OC, Tufanganj Police Station was also present to welcome Manik.
Overwhelmed by the reception and with tears in his eyes, Manik thanked everyone, especially the Union government for the rescue efforts and the state government for taking care of his family during the
difficult times.
“It was an accident and there was no negligence. We were contacted after the first eighteen hours inside the tunnel. There was about 2 kilometers of space inside the tunnel. This is where we lived until we
were rescued.”
He urged the state government for a job here or a source of income so that he would not have to go to other states leaving his family behind again. He has been working with the Hyderabad-based company as an electrician since 2018.
After around 7 months, he returned home on Friday. His wife Soma cooked all his favourite dishes — ‘mushurir dal, aloo bhaja, choto mach and mutton’.
“After so long my husband has finally returned home, that too after being trapped in a tunnel, where every moment was uncertain. We can never forget those days. I cooked all his favorite dishes to welcome him home,” stated Soma.