His 17-year-old face is tired and haggard; he hasn’t slept in six days. Aakash Negi arrived in Silkyara at midnight on November 13, hours after he first received a frantic call that his father was one of the 41 workers trapped inside the caved in tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway. Since then, his eyes have never left the entrance, staring into the debris, willing 51-year-old Gabbar Singh Negi to emerge. Inside, his father is battling to survive. Outside the tunnel, Singh’s faith is now wavering.
Read here: Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Auger machine installed as rescue ops enter day 5
Negi looks at the bevy of rescue workers and equipment that work frenetically at intermittent intervals, stopping ever so often when a new challenge emerges. His patience is running out.
“They initially said it would take just 24 hours with the new high-performance auger machine. Now they have a new timeline which is not certain either while my father and the other workers are trapped inside. For how long can we stay brave,” Aakash said.
For the past six days, Negi has lived in the small one room tenement that his father lived in at the construction site of the 4.5km tunnel. His uncle, who travelled with him from their village in Pauri Garhwal doesn’t even return at night. “He stays outside the tunnel all the time,” Negi said.
Every few hours, they field worried calls from home. Every few hours, they tell them their father will emerge tomorrow.
“I have been lying to my mother. She asks about his well being for the last six days. And everyday, I tell her the same thing. They bring new machines every day, one after another. Who knows what is happening inside,” Negi said.
Fifteen of the trapped workers are from Jharkhand, eight from Uttar Pradesh, five from Odisha, four from Bihar, three from West Bengal, two each from Uttarakhand and Assam, and one from Himachal Pradesh. The identity of one of the workers was yet to be ascertained.
Read here: Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Rescue op hits another hurdle on day 6 of ordeal
Indrajeet from Jharkhand, who arrived at the spot on November 13 and is the brother of trapped labourer Vishwajeet Mahato said that while it was difficult to stay calm, he has been able to speak to his brother inside the collapsed tunnel, and has continued to funnel him with positivity.
“Every time I speak to him through the pipe, I tell him to stay positive, and that I will take him home for Chhat Puja. He asked me how everyone is doing at home, and I tell him all will be okay,” he said.
