There was a glimmer of hope on Tuesday for the 41 construction workers who remain trapped in the tunnel of sorrow-Silkyara-Barkot, in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, since November 12.
For the first time, after authorities pushed an endoscopic camera through the six-inch food pipe, construction workers were visible on the screen. For the families of the labourers waiting outside the tunnel, this brief visual was a psychological relief, holding out the hope that their dear ones could be evacuated safely.
These labourers, hailing from Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Himachal and Uttarakhand, have been trapped in the rubble of the collapsed unfinished tunnel which is part of the Char Dham allweather road, for the last 11 days.
Both the Centre and the state government have been facing flak for not doing enough to save the lives of the labourers, which is why the Centre, along with National Disaster Response Force, has decided to focus on the optics to deflect further criticism.
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The government has ensured that press releases issued by the PIB stress on the optics of the moment. There were stories of how a food pipe was pushed through the rubble last night, to deliver eatables for those trapped. Stories were splashed across mainstream and social media about how the labourers were served hot food packed in plastic bottles for the first time since they were trapped. Until last night, they had been surviving only on dry fruits and water, which was being funneled through a small water pipe.
The visuals showed the trapped labourers in their work gear, waving at the camera and communicating with the officials outside through a walkie-talkie.
“Aap camera ke paas walkie-talkie pe aake baat karein (come in front of the camera and talk to us through walkie-talkie),” an official requested them. Soon, the workers will be sent mobile phones through the food pipe, in an apparent bid to keep them engaged and their morale high. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also shared the video of the trapped workers and said they were all safe and would be rescued soon.
The government’s focus on the optics is understandable but this does not mean that questions on the compromised safety norms cease to exist. A PIL filed by an NGO, Samadhan, in the Uttarakhand high court, contends that the government is playing with the lives of the labourers. The court has admitted the PIL, sent notices to the Centre and the state government, seeking their response on the action taken to save the workers’ lives. The hearing is on Wednesday, November 22.
The Congress has been raising allegations that environmental norms have been openly flouted and that multiple accidents have been taking place inside the tunnels across the Himalayas. The party has been demanding the lodging of an FIR and the registering of a case of criminal negligence because the Himalayas are young fold mountains and tunnelling inside such mountains puts at risk the lives of the labourers on such projects.
Experts and activists have also pointed out that despite the Supreme Court having warned of the need to maintain a balance between infrastructure and environment, the government has, by and large, not even bothered to conduct a survey on the vulnerability of the mountains. Blasting inside the tunnels of the fragile Himalayas is prohibited but this has not deterred the government one bit.
Congress spokesperson Sujata Paul has pointed out that for the government these poor labourers do not matter as they do not form a vote bank. CPIML leader from Uttarakhand, Indresh Maikhuri, says that the busy election season has also drawn attention away from the human tragedy that is unfolding in the hills.
Activists have pointed out that protests have been organised by various NGOs but the dissent was blacked out by the media. Families of the trapped labourers have told the media that the labourers inside the tunnels are being used as guinea pigs and safety measures are just on paper. The Congress has even levelled charges of tunnel corruption, as the contract has been awarded to companies with a chequered background.
Is the government thinking of covering up its mistakes with good optics such as the endoscopic camera? It must be mentioned that this relief could be momentary. What is required is for the government to get to the root of the problem of the fragile Himalayas and how these tunnels are turning into graveyards for the poor labourers. For now, one can only hope and pray that these 41 labourers are safely evacuated and there is no further collapse in the tunnel because of the heavy machines and drilling being carried out vertically and horizontally.
