Five laborers from Bihar were among the 41 workers rescued after being trapped for 17 days in the under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. Who reached Patna airport by flight on Friday and then left for their homes. His family members also came with him. On reaching home everyone gave a warm welcome. There is no place to sleep or defecate in the darkness inside the tunnel. In such a situation, these workers shared their ordeal of 17 days spent in adverse conditions. All the workers praised the efforts of the Uttarakhand government to evict them and considered this as their second birth.
How did you use toilet and bath?
The workers told that they remained very worried for the first 24 hours after getting stuck in the tunnel. After this, when they started getting food and other facilities from outside, they became hopeful that soon they would come out of the tunnel. The biggest problem during this period was regarding defecation. The workers used to defecate in the open only in a part of the tunnel. Apart from this he had no other option. The conditions were not even favorable for bathing. The workers neither had much clothes nor any better arrangement for drying wet clothes. In such a situation, the workers who felt the need to take bath, took bath with the natural water dripping from a part of the tunnel.
Felt a lot of fear in the first 24 hours: Sonu Sah
Sonu Kumar Sah of Saran is working as a senior electrician there. He told that he felt a lot of fear in the first 24 hours after the tunnel collapsed. I wondered whether I would ever be able to see the outside world or not. But when the message was received that the work of evacuating us was underway, hope arose again. After that, food, medicines and messages kept coming from outside, due to which our morale did not break even in the long period of 17 days.
hugged each other after coming out of the tunnel
Sushil Vishwakarma of Rohtas told that when the accident happened in the tunnel, I was driving Hydra at that time. As soon as we got information about this, we all got worried. The entire tunnel two kilometers ahead was packed. We were not able to understand what to do. Felt like death was standing very close. But the next day, when we came to know through the pipe that people were trying to evacuate us, we got some relief. After coming out of the tunnel we hugged each other.
gathered at one place and encouraged each other
Virendra Kisko of Banka works as a Poklane operator there. He told that due to sudden falling of debris, a part of the tunnel got packed. For a few hours we did not understand what to do next, but we encouraged each other and gathered at one place in that part of the tunnel. The next day, when we got food from outside and received a message, we felt relieved.
Used to do yoga in the tunnel
Saba Ahmed of Bhojpur said that a situation of fear had arisen after the tunnel caved in, but after the arrangement of oxygen, there was hope of evacuation. He said that we never lost courage. At the same time, the material going in the rescue operation was received and distributed equally among everyone. He told that all the workers trapped in the tunnel were regularly given yoga in the tunnel, besides, sports material was made available to all the workers for entertainment by the administration. We kept getting food and drinking water along with essential medicines from outside, which kept us hopeful and ultimately we were successful in coming out.
got mudhi to eat for ten days
As soon as Deepak Kumar reached his home in Muzaffarpur after a struggle for life and death, his car stopped at the door of the house. Mother Usha Devi ran to hug Deepak. There were tears in the eyes of both mother and son. When the mother saw her son closely, the nervousness and restlessness of the last 20 days went away in an instant. Deepak told that we had no way of contacting outside. At first it seemed that it would be a small block. It will get better in some time. Then morning turned to night. When there was no contact from outside, we started feeling scared. There was nothing to eat so we spent the night drinking water. The situation was the same the next day also. On the third day, mudhi was found to eat from the four-inch pipe installed in the tunnel.
Workers used to shout through the pipe
Deepak told that we were getting oxygen only through pipes. People from outside used to tell by speaking through the pipe. We were told not to worry. Soon you people will be evacuated. If we had to say something, we would shout through the pipe so that the voice would go out. After ten days a six-inch pipe was sent inside. Fruits, water and food used to come from outside through it. Inside we had geotextile, which is like a sheet. We used to sleep on the same bed. It was difficult for us to spend even a single moment for 17 days. Although there was a belief that an attempt was being made to evict us.
People of Uttarkashi celebrated Diwali on 28th
Deepak told that when those people were taken out of the tunnel on 28th, they were taken to a hospital 25 km away in an ambulance. On the way, people had lit lamps on both sides of the road. At many places on the way, people were standing with lamps in their hands and chanting Bharat Mata. Fireworks also took place at many places while the ambulance was passing. It seemed as if the people of Uttarkashi were celebrating Diwali today itself. The same night, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami came to meet us in the hospital. He said that after this incident we too have not celebrated Diwali. You all are invited to my residence on 29th. We will celebrate Diwali together. We were taken to the CM residence on the 29th. There, lamps were lit en masse and fireworks were set off. Then we had dinner together. Cultural programs were also organized in the night. CM gave us a check of Rs 1 lakh each.