DEHRADUN (Uttarakhand) : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday celebrated the successful rescue of 41 trapped workers in Silkyara tunnel with the family members of the workers.
He participated in the ‘Igas Bagwal’ celebrations at his residence in Dehradun to mark the successful rescue of all 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel.
CM Dhami met the family members of a few 41 workers rescued from the Silkayara tunnel and felicitated them at the ‘Igas Bagwal’ celebrations at his residence in Dehradun.
Igas Bagwal is celebrated in Uttarakhand eleven days after Diwali. The festival is mainly celebrated in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttarakhand.
He also joined others in dancing during ‘Igas Bagwal’ celebrations at his residence in Dehradun.
Surojit Behera from West Bengal, whose brother-in-law is one of the 41 workers expressed his happiness and said that they were confident of their rescue.
“We are very happy. We were confident of their rescue. We received a lot of help from the Government. The Uttarakhand Government helped us a lot. The Chief Minister was there for 7-8 days and he too was involved in the operation,” he said.
Earlier in the day, CM Dhami announced that an incentive amount of Rs 50,000 each will be given to all the personnel working in the rescue operation inside the Silkyara Tunnel.
The 41 rescued workers from the Uttarkashi tunnel, were brought to AIIMS Rishikesh from Chinyalisaur for their further medical examination.
The workers were brought to Rishikesh on board the IAF Chinook helicopter.
“I have just met everyone and everyone is healthy and all of their family members are happy. They have been fully examined and there is no health problem as such,” said Dhami.
“The cheques of Rs 1 lakh which I had announced for the trapped workers have also been provided to them and the rescue workers who went inside the tunnel and dug it will also be rewarded with an amount of Rs 50,000 by the state government,” he added.
On being asked about the accountability of the incident, CM Dhami said that the government of India has already ordered a safety audit of the tunnels that are being constructed in the country.
All 41 workers who were trapped inside Uttarakhand’s Silkyari tunnel since November 12 were evacuated safely on Tuesday evening.
On November 12, a section of the tunnel between 205 and 260 metres from the Silkyara side collapsed. Workers who were beyond the 260-metre mark were trapped, with their exit blocked.
Following the safe evacuation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the courage and patience of the trapped workers and their families, as well as the bravery and determination of the rescue personnel.
PM Modi further said that everyone involved in this mission has set an example of humanity and teamwork. (ANI)