NEW DELHI, Dec 1: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met the rat-hole mining experts from the city who took part in an operation to rescue 41 labourers trapped in an under-construction road tunnel in Uttarakhand and thanked them on behalf of the people of the country.
The construction workers were trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district after a portion of it collapsed following a landslide on November 12. They were rescued on Tuesday after almost 17 days of a multi-agency operation.
The team of experts in the rat-hole-mining technique has been associated with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) for doing manual excavation for years. They used machines and manpower to lay down a pipe through boring to rescue the labourers trapped in the tunnel.
“The entire team was felicitated by the chief minister,” said Delhi Water Minister Atishi, who was present on the occasion.
The team members explained how they worked non-stop for three days, without even sleeping, during the rescue operation, Atishi said.
“Kejriwal thanked them on behalf of the people of the country and Delhi and told them how proud everyone is of them,” she told reporters.
The 12-member team was called to do the drilling after an American auger machine came across hurdles while clearing the rubble inside the tunnel.
According to officials, some of these 12 men are involved in laying sewer lines and pipelines for the DJB.
They returned from Uttarakhand on Thursday.
Rat-hole mining involves digging narrow tunnels, usually three-four feet high, for workers to enter a mine and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed “rat holes” as they just about fit one person.
At the Silkyara tunnel, the 12 experts were called by Trenchless Engineering Services Private Limited and Navayuga Engineers Private Limited to deploy the rat-hole-mining technique horizontally in the collapsed part of the main structure.
A DJB contractor said the opportunity and good fortune to serve the nation was incredible.
“We immediately took up the work and our team worked tirelessly to rescue the trapped labourers. Like us, many other agencies were working unitedly in the rescue operation,” he added.
One of the rat-hole mining experts said the team is used to working for long hours in emergency situations and it rested only after finishing the task at hand. (PTI)
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