Uttarkashi Tunnel Accident: After auger machine failure, manual drilling will start from tomorrow

The debris in the tunnel was drilled from 62 meters to 47 meters using Auger machine. Later a part of the machine broke, efforts are underway to remove it.

New Delhi :The rescue operation being conducted to save 41 laborers trapped in the tunnel in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand is in its final stages. The workers trapped in the tunnel are safe. There are continuous talks with him. They are mentally strong and their morale is high. The debris in the tunnel was drilled from 62 meters to 47 meters using Auger machine. Later a part of the machine broke, efforts are underway to remove it. Air Force team is arriving to remove the broken part. 

Officials said that now we are trying to remove the broken part with the help of a cutter. Now it will be dug manually. After removing the broken part of the auger, efforts will be made manually.

Machinery is being transported from the top of the mountain to drill the hole. A 1200 mm pit will be dug from top to bottom. One will have to go to a depth of 86 meters, then the debris of the tunnel will also have to be broken. A third method of drifting can also be adopted. Out of 62 metres, the dug portion up to 47 meters has to be kept stable.

Preparations for vertical drilling begin

NHAI member Vishal Chauhan said that the broken part of the Auger machine is clear up to 6.6 meters i.e. 22 meters. One-two meter cutting is taking place every hour. Auger's router is stuck at 25 meters out of 47 meters. Vertical drilling can be done with barcoat. Now it seems that the need for vertical drilling is being felt. 

International tunneling expert Arnold Dix said on Saturday that the auger machine with which 'drilling' was being done to rescue 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand has broken down. He said rescue teams were considering other options, including vertical and hand drilling.

"The auger is broken, damaged," Dix told reporters in Silkyara.

There are continuous obstacles in drilling with auger machine.

For the last few days, there were continuous obstacles while 'drilling' with the auger machine. When asked about other options, such as hand or vertical drilling, Dix said all options were being considered. He said, “Each option we are adopting has its own advantages and disadvantages. We have to ensure the safety of the rescuers and workers.

He said that ensuring the safety of stranded people and rescue workers is the goal of many agencies engaged in the operation. The tunnel expert said his daughter is also a miner and his heart goes out to the trapped workers.

A part of the tunnel being built on the Chardham Yatra route had collapsed on November 12, due to which 41 workers working in it were trapped. Since then, various agencies are carrying out rescue operations on a war footing to get them out. 

The length of the collapsed part of the tunnel is about 60 meters.

To rescue the workers, the 'drilling' being done in the collapsed part of the tunnel had to be stopped again on Friday night. Ahead of some 'drilling' on Friday, a 46.8 meter section of 800 mm wide steel pipe was pushed into the drilled path. The length of the collapsed part of the tunnel is about 60 meters.

To supply food and other essential items to the workers, a six-inch fourth tube has been extended to 57 meters. An official said that due to one hurdle after another, the work of horizontal 'drilling' to insert steel pipes through the debris through the auger machine is being stopped. He said that the option of 'hand drilling' for the remaining portion of 10 to 12 meters is being considered. He said that 'drilling' work by hand takes more time. 

Officials said that efforts are also being made to create a vertical rescue route. On Saturday morning, a large 'drilling' machine was moved towards the hill above the tunnel, where experts have identified the two lowest altitude spots for vertical drilling.

The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has already built a 1.5 km long road to the top of the tunnel, as vertical drilling has been under consideration for some time.

Vertical drilling more time consuming and complex option

International tunneling expert Arnold Dix had said a few days ago that vertical drilling is a more time-consuming and complex option, requiring greater precision and caution due to the relatively narrow space at the top of the tunnel.

The relatives of the workers trapped in the tunnel are gradually losing patience due to repeated interruptions in drilling by the machine and not getting the desired progress. Virendra Kisku, brother of Devendra Kisku, resident of Banka, Bihar, is among the workers trapped in the tunnel.

Expressing disappointment, Devendra said, "For the last two days, the officials have been assuring us that they (stranded workers) will be taken out soon, but something or the other happens, which delays the process."

Two retired officers punished for inciting military personnel to mutiny: ISPR

Major (retd) Adil Farooq Raja (left) and Capt (retd) Haider Raza Mehdi (right) were sentenced under the Pakistan Army Act 1952 by Field General Court Martial (Haider Raza Mehdi YouTube Channel)

The Pakistan Army's Public Relations Department ( ISPR ) said on Saturday that two retired army officers, Major (retd) Adil Farooq Raja and Captain (r) Haider Raza Mehdi, have been booked by the Field General Court for inciting the serving personnel to mutiny. The sentence is pronounced by a marshal.

According to a press release issued by ISPR, Major (retd) Adil Farooq Raja was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment with rigorous imprisonment and Captain (retd) Haider Raza Mehdi was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment with rigorous imprisonment.

According to ISPR, Major (Rtd) Adil Farooq Raja and Captain (Rtd) Haider Raza Mehdi have been booked under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 for inciting serving army personnel to mutiny and dereliction of duty. Under the Official Secrets Act 1923, he was convicted for sedition and actions against state interests.

According to the press release, the two retired officers were sentenced after court proceedings on October 7 and 9, 2023, while the ranks of the former officers have also been confiscated from November 21, 2023.

Both these former Pakistani army officers are based abroad and run their own YouTube channels.

Major (Rtd) Adil Raja is well known on social media especially X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook where he points out the flaws in Pakistan's political system through his messages. He has also been a supporter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf and keeps sending messages in this regard on social media.

Reports of his disappearance also surfaced in April 2022, when his wife Sabine Kayani reported her husband missing on X (formerly Twitter), but Adil Raja later discovered his arrival in the UK.

Accountability Process in Pakistan Army

Disciplinary action was taken against some officers of the Pakistani army in June this year as well .

 Army Spokesperson Major General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a press briefing that three officers, including a lieutenant general, were dismissed while 15 other officers, including three major generals and seven brigadiers, were subject to strict disciplinary action.

He had further said that the process of self-accountability within the army is done without any discrimination.

Earlier, in the 2021 report of the commission created in connection with the Army Public School attack, the details of the departmental inquiry of the Pakistan Army were also revealed, according to which the traditional standards of the army were not maintained on the issue of school security. Action was taken against 15 officers and personnel, including a Brigadier, while five personnel, including a major, were dismissed from the army.

In November 2019, Brigadier Rizwan was hanged for treason, while former ISI chief Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani was also found guilty of violating the military code of conduct for writing a book along with the chief of the Indian intelligence agency RAW. were convicted and their pensions and privileges were withdrawn.