Landline connection for trapped workers

A landline facility has been set up at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi to keep trapped workers connected with their family members, officials said on Saturday.

The facility has been set up by the BSNL and a handset will be given to the workers trapped inside the partially collapsed tunnel for the past 13 days, they said.

“We have set up a telephone exchange. We will give them a phone connected with the line via the pipe being used for sending food. This phone will have incoming and outgoing facilities. They can talk to their family,” DGM, BSNL, Rakesh Chaudhary told PTI.

The exchange has been set up 200 metres away from the Silkyara tunnel, Chaudhary said.

At present, 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. (PTI)