As the first person exited the Silkyara tunnel on Nov 28th, there was a visible sigh of relief !! 41 workers were trapped in the tunnel for 17 days behind 57 metres of debris. The operation to bring them out safely took 400 hours and several different agencies working together. New Bharat was seen in action ….. very little drama and focus on execution were the hallmark of this tunnel rescue.
New Bharat in Action
Just read this tweet from Gen Kakar on the efforts taken by the central government in this rescue.
A few things to note – no one waited for PM Modi to come and shake hands with the first rescued worker 🙄. We must remember that when the tragic cloud burst happened at Kedarnath, trucks carrying relief material were held back till Pappu and Pappu ki Maa could flag them off :(:(. I don’t want to keep bringing them up but the contrast is palpable.
Do listen to this short video clip which shows how difficult the whole operation was and the immense help that international tunnelling expert Mr. Arnold Dix provided to the rescue operation –
As Mr. Dix says New Bharat works quickly, calmly and coherently !!! Do read what our dear friend, Mr. Rajesh Kalra wrote after the rescue mission was done – https://x.com/rajeshkalra/status/1729544568385716327?s=20.
Rat Hole Mining
During the rescue the drilling machine broke down. There were 10 or 15 metres of debris still to be cleared. Officials brought in miners who could still do rat hole mining – a banned practice in India. It’s burrowing into tight spaces and it’s done by children or short thin men. It’s the team of rat hole miners who drilled through the last 15 metres of mountain to free the 41 trapped workers. Thank you to these life savers.
The ordeal is over and the nation heaves a sigh of relief. Mixed with the relief it’s also a sense of pride because New Bharat will burrow, drill or do anything required to help our own. We saw this new resilient spirit during the Sankat Mochan operation in Sudan, Operation Ganga during the Ukraine War, and the biggest of all during the Covid crisis.
As PM Modi said during his conversation with the rescued workers, someone will write a case study on this mission.
Baba Bhauknath Ki Jai ! Jai Hind. Jai Hind Ki Sena.