LIVE | Silkyara tunnel collapse: Vertical drilling likely to be completed by Nov 30, says NHIDCL
Tunnelling expert Chris Cooper said all the debris from the auger machine has been removed and manual drilling will start in a few hours
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) Managing Director Mahmood Ahmad on Monday (November 27) said the work of the vertical drilling at Uttarkashi tunnel where 41 workers remained trapped will be completed by November 30.
Addressing a press conference in Uttarkashi, Mahmood Ahmad said, “We have completed around 30 meters of drilling. The current machine that has been deployed can drill around 40-45 meters. We have brought two more machines for this purpose. SJVNL has brought those machines. Changeover machines will take time. We are expecting vertical drilling work would be completed by November 30.”
Meanwhile, Neeraj Khairwal, secretary, Uttarakhand government, said that the principal secretary to PMO, PK Mishra, instructed that the health of the trapped workers should be monitored from time to time. “The principal secretary said that the safety and security of these workers are important. He said that care should be taken of people stranded inside. Their health should be monitored,” he said.
Earlier, a delegation led by Mishra took stock of ongoing efforts to rescue 41 trapped workers in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi on the 16th day of the operations. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Uttarakhand Chief Secretary SS Sandhu accompanied him while taking stock of the ongoing rescue work. The principal secretary also enquired about the food items sent to the workers trapped inside the tunnel. He also spoke to them and their families.
In another significant development, micro tunnelling expert Chris Cooper said on Monday that all the debris from the auger machine has been removed and manual drilling to reach the trapped labourers will start in a few hours.
The remaining parts of the auger machine stuck in the rubble inside the Silkyara tunnel, where 41 labourers have been stranded for the past 15 days, were removed early on Monday. The auger drill got stuck last Friday, forcing officials to give up on the 25-tonne machine. Parts of the auger were left to be removed from an 8.15-metre area on Sunday night. It was necessary to extract the shaft and fins of the machine from the rubble completely to pave the way for manual drilling and pushing of pipes, which is in the final stretch with around 12 metres more to go.
(With agency inputs)
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