The 40 workers stranded by debris in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district since November 12 are safe and the authorities are in contact with them. The rescue effort is now focusing on drilling through to rescue the workers instead of removing the debris. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is also monitoring the situation and rescue efforts.

Officials informed that the rescue effort is being undertaken on a war footing. Instead of removing the debris, the rescue effort is now focusing on pushing a pipe to make an escape tunnel for which a platform for the drilling machine has been prepared at the site. It is expected that the process of installing 900 MM diameter MS pipes to create the escape tunnel will be started soon. Depending on the speed of drilling, further development is expected by late on Tuesday night or Wednesday. A team of technical experts and engineers is also present at the site to start the pipe pushing process. The Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam general manager and drilling and boring expert Deepak Malik is leading the technical aspects and drilling process in the rescue effort. On Tuesday, the Uttarkashi district magistrate Abhishek Ruhela along with the district hospital senior doctor Prem Pokhariyal visited the tunnel and talked to the stranded workers to boost their morale. Dr Pokhariyal enquired about the health of the workers and also gave them some health related instructions. The officials stated that all the stranded workers are said to be in a proper condition. The authorities have continued to send food items through a pipe to the stranded workers. The relatives of the workers who have reached the site to learn about the status of their kinfolk have been assured by the district administration and the police that all the stranded workers will soon be rescued safely. Informing the relatives about the rescue effort, the authorities also enabled some of them to talk to their stranded family members in the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is also seeking regular updates on the rescue mission from the officials. He has directed that all the necessary equipment and any other requirement should be met without delay to ensure that the rescue is expedited.