Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: What are the 5 plans to get the men out?
On Monday, the "first breakthrough" of the evacuation efforts was achieved when a six-inch pipe to supply essential commodities successfully reached the workers.
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Security personnel and others at the under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway, days after a portion of the tunnel collapsed trapping 41 workers inside. (PTI) The ongoing operations to rescue the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi entered Day 10 on Tuesday (November 21).
Currently, there is a five-point plan in place to evacuate the men. On Monday, the “first breakthrough” of the evacuation efforts was achieved when a six-inch pipe to supply essential commodities successfully reached the workers.
Here are the five plans in place to get the men out:
- 01
Horizontal boring from Silkyara end using American machine
According to information provided by the government, horizontal boring by NHIDCL from the Silkyara end (where the debris is), using an American boring machine, is scheduled to recommence by Monday night. The machine had stopped drilling on Friday afternoon as it kept getting lifted off the ground once it hit the 22-metre mark, and its bearings were damaged. A new set of bearings has now been brought from Mumbai.
- 02
1.2 m wide hole being dug vertically, from above
Another 1.2 metre wide hole is being dug vertically, from above the tunnel. This will need around 90 metres of digging, and will meet the tunnel at the 320-metre mark from the Silkyara side. The Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam has been given the responsibility of preparing this route. The first machine for the construction of the vertical rescue tunnel has already reached the site after the Border Roads Organisation prepared an access road. The work on the digging will start on Tuesday. Two other machines from Gujarat and Odisha are expected to reach in the next 2-3 days by road.
- 03
Horizontal micro-drilling from the left, to make escape tunnel
Officials informed that RVNL is also doing horizontal micro-drilling from the left of the tunnel. This will work as a life-saving escape tunnel even in the future – it will be 1.2 metres wide, 168 metres long, and will meet the existing tunnel at around the 300-metre mark from Silkyara side. Machinery for micro-tunneling through horizontal drilling is being transported from Nashik and Delhi.
- 04
Construction of rescue tunnel from Barkot end
Moreover, work on the construction of a rescue tunnel from the Barkot end by THDC (Tehri Hydro Development Corporation) through conventional drill and blast method has also commenced. Instead of completing the tunnel with the existing diameter, the THDC will make a narrower tunnel. This will require 483 metres of digging.
- 05
ONGC to make vertical tunnel
And finally, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has been asked to create another vertical tunnel at the 2.3-kilometre mark, which is where the tunnel is complete from the Silkyara side. The tunnel will be around 325 metres deep. Machinery for the vertical boring is being mobilised by ONGC from USA, Mumbai and Ghaziabad.
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