Bengal worker trapped in Uttarakhand tunnel collapse

Cooch Behar: Manik Talukdar from Tufanganj in Cooch Behar district was trapped in a tunnel collapse in the North Kashi area of Uttarakhand on Tuesday. His family learned about the incident through TV news, causing them great worry.

Manik Talukdar, a 50-year-old resident of Chekadora Gergendar Par in the Balrampur-1 village panchayat of Cooch Behar, had been working as a migrant labourer in Uttarakhand. Approximately six months ago, he took on the role of an electrician for a company in Hyderabad, operating within the tunnels of North Kashi in Uttarakhand. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, the tunnel collapsed, trapping about 40 workers from different states, including three from Bengal. Among them is Manik Talukdar from Balrampur, Tufanganj, in the Cooch Behar district.

According to the family, the last communication they had with Manik was on November 11. Subsequently, they saw the news on TV about the collapse.

Attempts to contact Manik were futile, as his mobile was switched off. The family is distressed and alleges that the company has not reached out to them with any information. Soma Talukder, Manik’s wife, makes a desperate plea to talk to him, but all efforts to contact him have been in vain. The family is devastated without news of the sole breadwinner.

Manik Talukdar’s son, Moni Talukdar, expressed: “No safety pipe was installed inside the tunnel by the company. Although it was there previously, it has now been removed. This lack of safety measures led to the unfortunate collapse.”