The Uttarakhand High Court has sought responses from the state government and central agencies within 48 hours on the ongoing operation to rescue 41 workers trapped inside a partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi for over a week.
The court’s direction came on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) related to the rescue operation at the Silkyara tunnel It was filed by the Dehradun-based NGO Samadhan.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumari Tiwari and Justice Pankaj Purohit asked the state government to submit its reply within the specified 48-hour timeframe.
Notices have also been served to the disaster management secretary, public works department, central government, and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
The next hearing for the case is scheduled for November 22, 2023.
The NGO, in its PIL, highlighted that the workers have been trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district since November 12, with the government allegedly failing to execute a successful rescue operation. The plea asserted that the government and the executive body are jeopardizing the lives of those trapped in the tunnel, emphasizing the lack of success in daily rescue attempts.
The PIL further called for the registration of a criminal case in the matter and urged for an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The petition also emphasized the need for providing essential rescue items such as pipes, generators, and machines before undertaking tunnel construction projects.
Alleging insufficient geological investigation during the tunnel’s construction, the PIL underscored the importance of thorough assessments before initiating such projects.
