DEHRADUN: On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a phone conversation with Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, to assess the progress made in rescuing 41 workers who had been trapped at the Silkyara tunnel for more than a week. He said that the Centre is providing the necessary resources and equipment for rescue operations, and that the trapped workers would be safely evacuated through mutual coordination between central and state agencies. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister’s Office released a statement stating that the prime minister felt it was imperative to keep the trapped workers’ morale high. The prime minister has spoken with Dhami three times now regarding the rescue efforts taking place at the tunnel. The prime minister was fully briefed by the chief minister about the rescue operations, and the minister assured him that all the trapped workers were safe and were receiving oxygen, wholesome food, and water on a constant basis. To carry out the rescue operations, all agencies are coordinating with one another and consulting with experts. Since last Sunday, the labourers have been stranded at the partially collapsed Silkyara tunnel. Situated approximately 30 km from Uttarkashi district headquarters and seven hours’ drive from Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, the Silkyara tunnel is a component of the central government’s ambitious Char Dham all-weather road project.
