WATCH: Villagers carry 'doli' of local deity to Uttarkashi tunnel collapse site, seek divine intervention

As efforts to rescue the 41 trapped workers from inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand gathered pace on Thursday, people of the nearby villages carried a palanquin of a local deity to the rescue site for the success of the operation to save the workers.

VIDEO | Uttarakhand tunnel collapse UPDATE: Villagers carry ‘doli’ of a local deity to the rescue site. pic.twitter.com/TngEYvzNCe

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 23, 2023

In a video posted on X, a group of villagers can be seen carrying a ‘doli’ of the deity as they make their way to the rescue site amid the beats of a ‘dhol’. The villagers are also heard raising slogans, invoking the deity.

In another video shared on X, locals are seen establishing the temple of local deity Baba Baukhnag outside the tunnel where the rescue operation is on.

VIDEO | Uttarkashi tunnel collapse UPDATE: Locals establish Baba Baukhnag temple at the rescue site. pic.twitter.com/B2hMRWZmMJ

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 23, 2023

The locals in Uttarkashi claimed that the under-construction Silkyara tunnel collapsed due to the wrath of Baba Boukhnag whose temple was demolished by the construction company days before the incident took place on 12 November.

After initial efforts to rescue the trapped workers failed, temple priest Ganesh Prasad Bijalwan said, company officials called him, apologised and requested him to perform a special puja.

He performed the puja and prayed for the success of the operation to rescue the workers.

The 41 men have been trapped for 11 days after a portion of the under-construction tunnel on the Uttarakhand Char Dham route collapsed, cutting off its exit.

Rescue operations to evacuate the workers resumed on Thursday morning after an overnight hurdle delayed the drilling by several hours.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority on Thursday said there could be a “success” in bringing out 41 workers trapped inside the tunnel in the next few hours or by Friday.

Briefing media about the ongoing rescue operations, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, also added that it would not be fair to speculate on the timeline for rescue operations as it is just like fighting a war.

The NDMA member also said that the horizontal drilling to rescue workers may face 3-4 more hurdles.

He further said that 41 ambulances, one each for trapped workers, are in place at the tunnel site, and also facilities are in place to airlift workers in serious condition.

With inputs from agencies