INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SILKYARA: The long wait for the 41 workers trapped inside the partially-collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi for almost a fortnight may
stretch for a little more time, as the US-made auger machine, which is drilling through the debris to create an escape passage, stopped
again on Friday evening after hitting another obstacle.In view of the back-to-back hiccups in drilling, rescue teams late Friday decided to
change strategy and go for a mixed approach by getting workers to remove debris manually and make a way for the machine to push the 900mm
pipes further, so that the last leg of the rescue can be successfully accomplished.The auger machine had been out-of-operation earlier too,
for more than 24 hours after encountering a snag on Thursday.An official closely involved in the operations, who did not wish to be named,
midnight.Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Everyone is fine inside and there are facilities, says brother of a trapped workerWhile one worker is
expected to spend two hours or so in the narrow 3-feet opening and then come out, a replacement will then dig and complete the task
machine could only operate for around an hour in the evening on Friday before showing sluggishness which was subsequently found to be due to
the presence of iron frames and metal girders in its path
This happened when 10-12 metres of drilling was still left to reach the workers, sources said.To check the presence of any further obstacle,
a ground penetration radar (GPR) test has been done
always conclusive since it may not detect the presence of smaller objects in the path.The government reiterated that alternative options
As part of the exercise, a fourth blast was undertaken on the Barkot side of the tunnel, creating a drift of 9.1m (around 30 feet).(With
