U’khand tunnel collapse: Ground-penetrating radar deployed to check obstacles, says top official

New Delhi: Even as all efforts are being made to rescue the 41 trapped workers in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel for the last 13 days, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday said that ground-penetrating radar has been deployed which can scan up to five meters into the soil to determine the obstacles, and then the movement of auger machine will be done.

Briefing the media in the national capital, Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, NDMA member, on the Uttarakhand tunnel rescue operation dubbed the operation as one of the most very challenging one and said that “a war is being fought to save the sons of India, who have been trapped up there in the mountain”.

He said that the government is ensuring that no resources will be left which are required and have not been mustered for this particular rescue operation.

Hasnain said: “Welding of pipes is being done and then it will be pushed, following which the auger machine will be used, so it will take some time.

“The good news is that a ground-penetrating radar has been deployed, which can scan up to five metres into the soil to determine the obstacles, and then the movement of auger machine will be done very deliberately and we are hoping it will be smooth.”

He said that the ground-penetrating radar was provided by a company. Hasnanin said that this is a good development but there is a need to keep a control on reporting the developments.

“By giving breaking news that a ‘breakthrough’ is about to happen leads to misunderstanding in public perception,” Hasnain said.

He also said that there has been no advancement in the efforts to drill through the debris at the Sikyara tunnel since Thursday.

However, the drilling will once again resume after it was stopped following obstacles.

Relief and rescue work, which entered the 13th day, is being carried out by scientists, international experts, NDRF, SDRF, BRO on a war footing.

Meanwhile, another official said that the rescue work will resume on Saturday.

–IANS