• Source:JND
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Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: A high-performance drilling machine was brought to Uttarkashi from Indore on Saturday to pierce through the rubble of the collapsed tunnel on the Char Dham route. According to news agency PTI, the machine was being assembled before it is deployed to resume drilling, officials at the site said.

Here Are Latest Updates:

1. As the rescue operation entered day seven, the Indian Army has now been deployed in the process. The Army has been tasked with constructing a track to the top of the hill so that the option of reaching out to trapped workers through vertical drilling can be availed of.

2. Army official Major Naman Narula said that the Indian Army has been enrolled in the Siljyara tunnel rescue operation and given the responsibility of making a track to the top of the hill. Speaking to ANI, he added that the construction work has been started and drilling will begin once the construction of the track is completed.

3. The administration is also looking to enroll a tree-cutting expert in the ongoing rescue operation at the Silkyara tunnel incident site. A tree-cutting expert named Ashiq has been called, and tree-cutting work is expected to begin shortly.

4. "We were trying to reach them horizontally; now we will also try vertically... A spot right above the tunnel has been identified and marked. A hole will be drilled from there to reach there. The depth of the whole would be approximately 300-350 feet... The horizontal attempt of rescue would also begin from Barkot end of the tunnel," said Uttarkashi DFO DP Baluni.

5. Former Prime Minister Office (PMO) advisor Bhaskar Khulbe said that the team deployed at the Silkyara tunnel requires coordinated action for the rescue operation that is underway at the site, adding that multiple options are being explored to save their lives.

6. In the day, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a review meeting with the senior officials and announced that the state government would provide accommodation, food and health facilities to the families of the workers trapped.

7. According to an official release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), "Chief Minister Dhami said that the state government will provide accommodation, food, and health facilities to the families of the workers."

8. CM Dhami has also instructed the officials to coordinate with the families of the workers and give updates on the relief and rescue operations.

9. The tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway collapsed in the early hours of November 12.

10. The 4531-metre tunnel is part of the Chardhan Project of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and will link the Gangotri and Yamunotri axis under the Radi Pass area.

(With input from agencies)