It was that fateful day when the tunnel partially collapsed, with 41 construction workers trapped inside. The regular excavator machines were brought in, but with no success. Then came an auger machine to drill through the debris, to form a passage. This failed too, and a bigger machine was flown in. This machine made some headway, with some 9 metres of success. This hit a snag and then another machine was brought in. Drilling stopped and new solutions were thought of. Different approaches to dig, reach out, were devised. Pipes, visual cameras, some more drilling. Finally, rat-hole miners, a much-derided lot, came to the rescue, to manually drive home to the trapped 41.
Outside, closer to the final hour, 41 ambulances were waiting. Family members of the trapped workers were waiting. So, was the world with bated breath. Non-stop television coverage, anxious enquiries from all sections of the society, it has been one common concern. Whether we will succeed, and when? Also, waiting was the Uttarkhand CM with garlands, senior officials of the PMO, national disaster management agencies, a make shift hospital close by, a large team of doctors to examine the trapped souls, as and when they come out.
It was finally both man and machines that made the day possible. One word summed up the national reaction: RELIEF. We all felt a surge of relief, calm and joy. It was a joint endeavour of a kind seldom witnessed. So many arms of the government and the private sector were involved to make it a success. The trapped workers themselves helped. Outside, it was the locals, the PMO, the NDRF, the Engineers from the Indian Army, the rat-hole miners, and numerous others.
The good news is that they made it; reasonably from first reports, hale and hearty except for high BP, which they say is normal considering the anxiety they must have gone through.
Through the days, what became most important was to get the trapped workers out. They are out, after considerable concerted effort, and prayers answered. The trauma had overtaken the larger concern, in the first case, how and why the tunnel collapsed. We have no answers, except to go by select media reports. What is cardinal in our understanding is that systematic assessments and clearances were brushed aside through calculated subversion of rules. Imagine, government departments becoming adept at bypassing government rules!
Bypassing a rule that requires an environmental clearance by breaking the tunnels with roads less than 100 km length, which would have been the requirement otherwise. There is also a large body of expert opinions saying the hills are fragile, and unlikely to take the impact of blasting dynamite, cutting of hills, and other such things which jeopardise the Himalayan ecology. We are also being told that caution and care is giving way to speed. We seem to be in a hurry and prone to short-cuts. Certainly, we have witnessed too much sloth already, but speed must be exercised with caution and concern for the hills. There are reports that some 16 such other projects are being scrutinised afresh. This is good news, except that they must be transparent and honest appraisals; calling out the truant is not so necessary as evaluating these projects and making required course corrections. Like, providing escape routes!
With this successful operation, have we as a nation created a new benchmark for disaster relief into the future? There have been natural and some not so natural disasters in the past, as life is everyday prone to them, and some may happen into the future. A national disaster management exercise of this magnitude, has seldom been seen before. We should be, and indeed are, proud that we did succeed, with this delicate and dangerous mission. Will the National Disaster Management Authority be upgraded? Will a larger sub-set be engaged as the first circle of reference in any such future misadventures? Will we see a larger and more empowered inner circle?
Only a few months earlier, there were unmitigated disasters as massive unprecedented floods ravaged life and living in the hills, in both Uttarakhand and in Himachal. There was much loss to property, economy with a state like Himachal claiming losses in excess of 10,000 crore rupees. Admittedly, these were not the same as the tunnel collapse; here was a government run operation under way, with government agencies managing them. Holistically, was our response similarly adequate and responsible, in other disaster situations?
We cannot but recall that not too long ago, when covid struck the nation’s economy and the workforce, thousands of migrant families made their way to their respective homes. Mostly on foot, trekking hundred of kilometres, with family and baggage. It was a most cruel sight, to say the least. As a nation, how much did we go beyond lip service, tonnes of sympathy but what beyond? It’s a pity that many of the NGOs did not also come forward. Fortunately, no loss of life was reported but we did not acquit ourselves well as a people. Here was fellow human misery in full view!
These 41 lives must teach us the value of life, even more. They have proved precious lives, as indeed they were. Our national consciousness needs a new awakening. To begin with, should we wait for the next tragedy? Why not begin now, right away? Like valuing each and every less privileged soul we pass by each day in our everyday life?
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