‘Canopy’ solution to restart drilling in Uttarkashi tunnel rescue, says Nitin Gadkari

At Uttarkashi tunnel site, 41 workers trapped in rubble for over a week. Technical solution of auger machine to create 'canopy' to secure entrance. Heavy machinery and concrete blocks trucked in. Aerial surveys, robotic systems being explored. 60 metres of rubble between trapped workers and rescuers. Drilling vertically from mountaintop with two openings planned. 4-inch pipe providing trapped workers water, food, medicine, antidepressants. Gadkari: Rescue should be completed in 2.5 days with God's blessings.

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari arrived at the Uttarkashi tunnel site on November 19, where 41 workers have been trapped behind a pile of rubble near the south entrance for over a week. “A technical solution has been for the auger machine,” Mr. Gadkari told reporters, referring to the machinery used to drill through the rubble and insert a wide pipe out of which workers can crawl. 

Anurag Jain, the Road Transport and Highways Secretary, said that this solution was to create a ‘canopy’ to secure the structure of the entrance, so that the drill does not disturb the tunnel’s structural integrity. The auger machine is the third such apparatus on site since rescue efforts started. Asked if it was working, Mr. Gadkari said it had, but it was unclear if drilling on this front had resumed. 

Heavy machinery and concrete blocks were being trucked into the site throughout the day. Mr. Gadkari said that aerial surveys were being explored by the Survey of India, and that robotic systems may be sent inside the tunnel, though he did not provide details of these proposals. 60 metres of rubble stands between the trapped workers and the rescuers.

Rescue workers are also preparing to drill vertically from the mountaintop through which the tunnel is being constructed, with two openings planned: a six-inch wide opening to provide workers more advanced supplies, and a wider opening worked on by ONGC Ltd., which will serve as an alternate escape route for the workers. A four-inch pipe is already being used to give those trapped water, food, vitamin supplements, medicine, and antidepressants, Mr. Jain said. A second such pipe is being built, Mr. Gadkari said.

“I would like to say clearly to … workers and their families: don’t be anxious,” Mr. Jain said. “This may take time, but the work will definitely happen.” Mr. Gadkari, pressed on a timeline, said, “If the auger machine continues drilling … with God’s blessings we should be able to complete the rescue in two and a half days,” he said.