Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday announced that the government will provide a financial assistance of ₹1 lakh to each of the 41 workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district of the state.
“Apart from this, complete arrangements will be made for treatment in the hospital till going home,” ANI quoted a statement from the chief minister’s office.
Dhami was present along with Union minister VK Singh to welcome the workers who were brought out by the rescuers. He garlanded the workers and escorted them to the ambulance in which they were taken to the health centre for medical checkup.
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“ I want to thank all the members who were part of this rescue operation…PM Modi was constantly in touch with me and was taking updates of the rescue op. He gave me the duty to rescue everyone safely anyhow.. without his support, this wouldn’t have been possible. He spoke to me just now and instructed that medical check-ups of everyone must be done… and facilities must be done to take them to their homes,” Dhami said at the briefing after the rescue operation ended.
The rescue workers managed to pull out all the 41 workers trapped in the tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that lasted for almost 17 days. An ambulance with the first of the 41 workers left the mouth of the tunnel around 8 pm, this an hour after a group of rat-hole mining experts dug through the last stretch of rubble.
There was hugging and cheers as the ordeal ended. Outside the tunnel some people chanted “Har Har Mahadev” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”
Ambulances which had lined up at the tunnel ferried the workers to a community health centre where a special 41-bed ward had been set up.
Before this, the workers were given a quick medical checkup as they emerged out of the steel pipe.
CM Dhami said no worker was in a critical situation. But the labourers will be kept under medical observation for some time before being sent home.
