As auger machine faces repeated obstacles, use of manual excavation likely for remaining digging at Silkyara | India News

NEW DELHI: With the auger machine facing repeated obstacles, the government and the agencies involved in the rescue of 41 workers stranded inside the under-construction Silkyara tunnel may resort to conventional manual excavation to complete the remaining portion of digging.
While 85-90% of the work is over, the remaining bit will require deployment of gangs of specialised workers.While one worker is expected to spend two hours or so in the narrow three feet opening and then come out, a replacement will then dig and complete the task. The plan is being discussed and the estimate is that the entire exercise will take between 18 and 24 hours. “This seems to be the most feasible option. This technique has been used for years and it should work for reaching the last few metres,” a source involved with the exercise told TOI.
Personnel for manual cutting have already been mobilised and they are awaiting a go-ahead.

Rescue work has frequently been hampered as steel girders are making it tough for the machine to complete its task. The machine has three parts – a pipe, a cutter and a conveyor that sucks out earth. Apart from the steel girder, the machine also has to bear the load from the top, which varies from 100-250 tonne, making the task tough.
The government had said that the radar penetration technology, which was used, had suggested that there were no big obstacles. But the auger machine, when redeployed around 4.30 PM after repairs, had to be stopped around 5.15 PM when it had cleared just a little over 2 metres. The possibility of more obstacles unexpectedly popping up is not being ruled out.
On Friday afternoon, NDMA member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain had said that there was still around 15 metres of digging left but did not give any timeline. “The rescue timeline depends on any obstacles that may come in the way of drilling,” he said at the official briefing.
Government again said that alternative options remain on the table. As part of the exercise, a fourth blast was undertaken on the Barkot side of the tunnel, creating a drift of 9.1 metres (around 30 feet).
Watch Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse Rescue: Watch a demo of how NDRF plans to rescue 41 stranded workers in the operation