Uttarakhand Silkyara Tunnel Rescue: Robots to check on mental well-being of workers

With rescue operations progressing swiftly, robotics expert Milind Raj said on Monday that the mental well-being of the trapped workers would be monitored using robots. The robotic expert said that indigenous technology will be used for this purpose. He held discussions with the officials engaged in the rescue operations regarding the ongoing rescue operation, adding that the team will implement the best possible solutions. “I am here for the mental well-being of the 41 workers stuck in the Silkyara tunnel. This is a homegrown indigenous technology. Now the robots will monitor their mental health. We have systems to monitor the health of workers round-the-clock,” Milind Raj said. “Internet service will also be provided. This rescue robotic system will help detect hazardous gases inside, like methane,” he added. The workers became trapped on Nov. 12 when a landslide caused a section of the 4.5-kilometre tunnel they were constructing to collapse about 200 meters from the entrance. The challenging mountainous terrain has posed difficulties for the drilling machine, which previously broke twice as rescue teams attempted horizontal excavation towards the trapped workers. “This robotic system has three things. It has a gas detection system; apart from this, it will provide internet service and also monitor the health of the trapped labourers from a distance of 100 metres from its position,” he said. “With the help of this, we can work to improve their mental condition. Before this, a building had collapsed in Lucknow, in which 14 people were saved alive. We used the same robotic system in the operations,” he added. He asserted that the system will be set up soon and work will also start in a few hours. “One machine will remain here and our sensors will go ahead at a distance of 100 metres, which will give us their inputs. Very soon we will set up our system here and the work will start,” Milind Raj said. Earlier today, a delegation led by Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Pramod Kumar Mishra took stock of ongoing efforts to rescue the trapped workers in the tunnel. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Uttarakhand Chief Secretary SS Sandhu, along with Pramod Kumar Mishra, inspected the work inside the tunnel. As per the micro tunnelling expert Chris Cooper, all the debris from the auger machine has been removed and manual drilling to reach the trapped labourers will start soon. The auger machine being used for horizontal drilling of the tunnel that got stuck inside the pipe was cut and removed using a plasma cutter on Monday morning. Vouching for the manual method, former Army Engineer-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Harpal Singh (Retd), told ANI that there is no other way left except the manual method to reach the trapped workers. Singh said that he reached the site to provide technical input and further aid the ongoing rescue operations. He added that efforts are being made on all fronts to speed up the rescue process. As per official sources, the rat hole mining technique will be used through manual drilling to remove the debris inside the pipe and accelerate the rescue. The rat hole mining technique is generally used in coal mining, especially in regions that have difficult terrain. A team of six specialists has reached the site to undertake the manual drilling work and a team of 11 people will go inside the 800-mm pipe of the tunnel to remove the debris manually. The team includes engineers from the Indian Army’s Madras Engineering Group as well as civilians. In collaboration with the Border Road Organisation and other agencies, efforts are also underway to enter from the other mouth of the tunnel, which is the Barkot side. Four blasts were undertaken under the supervision of BRO and so far only 10 metres out of 500 metres have been covered. Also, the rescuers are planning to build a mini tunnel along the left side of the tunnel, horizontal but perpendicular to the Silkyara tunnel, the work of which will be undertaken by SJVN. Rescuers have inserted pipes into the dug-out channel, welding them together to create a passageway for pulling out the men on wheeled stretchers. Currently, approximately 46 meters of pipe have been installed, according to Devendra Patwal, a disaster management officer. To sustain the trapped workers, authorities have been providing hot meals made of rice and lentils through a 6-inch pipe, following days during which they survived on dry food sent through a narrower pipe. Additionally, oxygen is being supplied through a separate pipe. With inputs from agencies.