All 41 workers who were trapped for 17 days inside the collapsed Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi were given the medical clearance to go back home after having been under observation at AIIMS Rishikesh for a day. They were rescued on Tuesday and taken to AIIMS Rishikesh after an initial medical assessment. “.We did not find any injury or any other kind of medical issue. We admitted them for a thorough assessment and conducted blood tests, liver function test, kidney function test, X-rays, ECG, and other tests,” AIIMS Medical Superintendent Dr R B Kaliya said. The 41 workers comprised 15 from Jharkhand, eight from Uttar Pradesh, five each from Odisha and Bihar, three from West Bengal, two each from Uttarakhand and Assam, and one from Himachal Pradesh. “All the workers are physically normal and clinically stable, and from our side, we have given them clearance so that they can go back to their respective places…,” Kaliya said. Keeping possible psychological issues in mind, he said, the men have been asked to contact their nearest hospital in two weeks, or as per requirement. Dr Narendra Kumar, who looks after the hospital administration, said nodal officers from the states to which the workers belong were in touch with hospital authorities regarding their journey back home. “Patients from Jharkhand and Odisha are expected to be discharged today (Thursday) itself. We are also talking to the nodal officers of other states too. Soon after their ticket booking, we will discharge them too,” he said. Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh, a Jharkhand government representative, said all 15 workers from the state would be transported from Dehradun to Delhi on Thursday night on a 7.30 pm flight, and that they would then go to Jharkhand on Friday. Respective district administrations in Jharkhand will then facilitate their journeys to their villages.
