Silkyara tunnel survivors being kept under observation at AIIMS-Rishikesh

The government airlifted the 41 workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel to AIIMS-Rishikesh where they underwent a health check-up on Wednesday. Many of them shared how they overcame initial anxiety, stood by each other and never gave up hope.

As the 17-day ordeal brought the project into the spotlight, a senior road ministry official said work on the tunnel, which is part of the central government’s strategic 900-km ‘Char Dham Yatra All Weather Road’, will continue after the necessary safety audit and repair of the broken structure.

The workers were kept under medical observation at a hospital in Chinyalisaur after their evacuation on Tuesday night. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met them and handed over a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to each of them. The chief minister also announced a Rs 50,000 reward for each of the rat-hole mining experts who took part in the rescue operation.

The workers were brought to AIIMS-Rishikesh by a Chinook helicopter this afternoon.

An official at AIIMS-Rishikesh said they were undergoing a detailed examination of health parameters. Their mental health will also be checked, he said adding they were being kept under observation.

“It was very painful for all of us to see our workers trapped inside the tunnel. Many festivals passed by... I had said we would celebrate all the festivals the day our workers are rescued safely. With God’s blessings and the collective efforts of agencies, the workers were evacuated yesterday,” Dhami said at ‘Igas Bagwal’ celebrations with the families of rescued workers in Dehradun later in the day.

The tunnel is part of the ambitious Rs 12,000-crore Char Dhaam project aims to provide all-weather connectivity to four holy towns — Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath — in Uttarakhand.

“The safety audit of the Silkyara tunnel will be conducted. Meanwhile, efforts will be made to repair and rectify the broken structure.

“The necessary precautions will be taken and the 4.5 km long tunnel project will continue,” a senior official of the road ministry who was part of the rescue team said.

The Uttarakhand tunnel rescue mission also came up for discussion during the meeting of the Union Cabinet on Tuesday night, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “very emotional”, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday.

Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Cabinet, he said there was a “whole of government” approach and every effort was made to save every life from anywhere in the country or even abroad.

“The Modi government and the prime minister have made every effort to save the lives of every Indian even from abroad and Uttarakhand is another such example in this regard,” Thakur told reporters.

A portion of the under-construction tunnel collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit of the workers who were inside. The first breakthrough happened after food, medicines and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the debris on November 20 while the first video contact was made the next day.

“All of us were scared, people were saying all kinds of things. Thirst, food shortage, suffocation everything came to the mind all at once. But when we established a connection with a four-inch drain pipe from outside, the mood began to change,” recalled 25-year-old Manjeet Chauhan.

As the rescue work progressed outside, the morale of the stranded labourers went up. Labourers got a lifeline when the rescuers managed to drill a 6-inch wide pipe to supply them with hot food.

“Besides the daily walks, I used to look forward to the hot dal sent to us,” Chauhan said.

As part of the routine, the labourers used to walk along the 2-kilometre stretch inside the tunnel, do yoga and play mobile games with each other.

“We all became friends. We talked about our family members, the things we would take with us when we return and how they would react. Over days, we became confident that we would get out soon,” he said.

“We never lost hope. The initial few hours were difficult because we felt suffocated. But soon after, contact was made with people outside and everything slowly became normal,” Vishal, a resident of Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, said.

Pushkar Singh Airay, one of the 41 workers, said the initial several days were very difficult for them as they had to survive without proper meal.

When we came to know that a portion of tunnel collapsed, we ran towards the exit but it was completely blocked with the rubble,” Pushkar, a resident of Uttarakhand’s Champawat village, said. He was a machine operator in the tunnel. Pushkar said initial hours was very scary as every worker thought that they would die.

“Initially, we thought we will die soon, as we felt suffocated. But soon, found a ray of hope in the water motor pipe, which was used for ejecting water out of the tunnel,” Pushkar said.

“From that pipe, we tried to give an indication to people outside by stopping the water supply through motor. Initial 12-13 hours were spent in doing that only. Then people outside understood that some of us are alive,” Pushkar said, adding that the pipe proved to be a boon for them.

“When the pipe got dried, the people outside sent a letter stating a rescue operation has started to evacuate us. Then we heaved a sigh of relief,” Pushkar said.

“We used to shout at the mouth of the pipe to send our messages. Then they start sending dry fruits and grams,” he said.

The worker said there was a natural source of water in the tunnel but they had no clothes to change. “Initial few days, we did not take bath, but later started taking bath using the natural water. The main problem was how to maintain hygiene,” Pushkar said.

The stretch inside the tunnel was of two kilometers on which, he said, they had dig a hole in the ground and made a makeshift toilet, about one kilometre from the place where they were staying.

They would sleep on the geotextile fire sheet which was available inside the tunnel.

On November 20, the six-inch pipe was finally inserted and the supply of normal food and clothes started.

On being asked how they used to spend time, Pushkar said they had made playing cards by tearing papers into that shape. The papers and pens were lying in the machines and cranes parked inside the tunnel, he said, adding they had made balls with socks and would play ‘chor sipahi’.

He said after six-inch pipeline was inserted, they started getting almost every thing.

“We would talk to our family members by the communication channel set up in the tunnel. CM Dhami sir, VK Singh sir and other people used to motivate us,” Pushkar said.

The temperature inside the tunnel was normal but felt cold during wee hours, he said.

He said after the food pipe was installed, a lot of food was sent. “I think a stock of food for a month was collected in the last seven days, and that is lying inside the tunnel,” Pushkar said.