Lt General (Rtd) Syed Ata Hasnain, Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said on Friday that the further progress in the ongoing rescue operation inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand will be done very carefully and deliberately.
Addressing the media in New Delhi, Lt Gen Hasnain also gave the bad news that no progress had been made since yesterday “in terms of movement of the pipe into the tunnel through the debris.” He explained that the auger machine ran into steel and iron materials in the debris that caused a series of other problems but also assured that they were being resolved swiftly by the integrated team.
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It will take some time, he said while breaking the good news that the operation will now have the support of a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) provided by PARSONS Overseas Private Ltd, that will guide the auger machine operations to know what kind of obstacles lie ahead for up to 5 metres. Lt Gen Hasnain also informed that the auger drilling machine was provided by Trenchless Engineering Services and that they intend to use the machinery very carefully as it is the “work-force of the entire operation”.
Saying this, the member of NDMA reiterate that the Uttarakhand operation is a “war which is being fought to save the sons of India who had been toiling up there in the mountains.” He also assured that the Government is “ensuring that no resources are left which is required and mastered for the rescue”. Lt Gen Hasnain lauded “all of government approach” on the mission, highlighting how the various ministries and agencies of Government of India are working together with cooperation and commitment to get them out by all means.
