Workers' kin anxious as tunnel rescue op hits repeated hurdles

"He looked very stressed and impatient and kept asking us when would they come out," Sunita, whose brother-in-law Virender is among the 41 workers trapped inside the collapsed tunnel in Silkyara in Uttarkashi for the past 13 days, said on Saturday.

Virender's plea summed up the mood among the trapped workers and their relatives who have gathered in Uttarkashi.

As the rescue effort hits one after another hurdles, hope is gradually giving way to impatience and disappointment.

After her interaction with Virender this morning, Sunita said, "Today we talked about 10 minutes.... He did not eat this morning. He told me that he does not want to eat.... We are very anxious now. He looked very stressed and impatient. He kept asking us when would they come out."

Hailing from Bihar, she has come to the site along with her husband Devender and Virender's wife.

Virender's elder brother Devender said the authorities are giving them hope everyday but are yet to achieve success.

"For the last two days we are being assured by officials that they (trapped workers) are being evacuated soon but something or the other happens and the process gets delayed," Devender said in a tone of disappointment.

The communication between the trapped workers and their relatives is facilitated by a communication system set up through a six-inch wide pipe.

An endoscopic camera was also pushed through this pipe, allowing rescue workers and relatives of the trapped men to see the condition inside.

Rescuers are now trying to push wider pipes through the rubble to create an escape passage for the trapped workers.

Drilling at the collapsed portion of the tunnel has been halted since Friday as the the auger machine faced hurdles one after another. An tunnelling expert at the site said on Saturday the machine was broken.

Rescuers are now exploring other options such as drilling the remaining stretch of 10 to 12 metres manually or creating a vertical escape passage for the 41 labourers trapped inside.

The multi-agency rescue effort began November 12 when a portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route collapsed following a landslide, trapping workers inside.

According to the Bihar disaster management department, the construction workers from Bihar stranded in the Himalayan state were identified as Saba Ahmed, Sonu Sah, Virendra Kisku, Sushil Kumar and Deepak Kumar.

Deepak Kumar's mother Usha Devi told reporters at her home in Muzaffarpur district, "I feel numb with the trauma we have been going through ever since we first got the news. For close to two weeks, we have been hearing my child will be rescued today. That today never comes."

Usha Devi's torment is shared by Misbah Ahmed, a resident of Bhojpur district, who anxiously stares at his mobile phone screen to get updates on the rescue operation on which hinges the well-being of his only son Saba.

"We were crestfallen when we first got the news from another family member working on the same project who was lucky not to be in the affected portion of the tunnel," said Misbah.

"We got to hear a recording of my son's voice from inside the tunnel. He sounded exhausted but optimistic. Nonetheless, for us, the rescue operation in itself is no longer a consolation. My son is the only breadwinner of the family," said the distraught father.

Devraj, elder brother of Virendra Kisku, said at their home in Banka district, "When we got the news last week, Virendra's wife broke down but gathered herself up soon and left for Uttarkashi, determined to bring her husband back."

He added, "We are praying ceaselessly for the ordeal of my brother to end and the penance (tapasya) of his wife to bear fruit. Rescue officials once helped her talk to Virendra over the phone. But for how long can one make do with such consolations?"

In Rohtas district, Sushil Kumar's family members said the construction worker's elder brother Haridwar Vishwakarma has reached Uttarkashi.