It was almost 05:30 IST on 12th November, 2023 , the disaster happened. A portion of the Silkyara Bend – Barkot tunnel collapsed .The tunnel was planned to connect with the National Highway 134 in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand , India . 41 workers were trapped inside the tunnel. The rescue operation started immediately. Many government agencies like National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Uttarakhand Police, Indian Army Corps of Engineers, Project Shivalik of the Border Road Organisation participated in the rescue operation. A team of geologists were also involved to identify the cause.The collapse occurred about 600ft or 200 metres from the entrance of the tunnel. The state government launched operation ‘ Zindagi ‘ to save those trapped workers. On November 17, the drilling through the debris was paused. Alternative access tunnels were started parallel and adjacent to the main tunnel. Three pipes were drilled to provide oxygen, food, hot meals and endoscopic camera. The Border Road Organisation constructed a 1.15 kilometres road to a location of a hillock above the tunnel in 19th November. Rescue operation and drilling through the debris were continued. Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam reached a depth of 32 metres by vertical drilling . Another pipeline was built by Rail Vikash Nigam to supply the necessities to the workers. THDC India Limited successfully drilled upto 12 metres on the Barkot end of the tunnel . Oil and Natural Gas Corporation was also preparing for the drilling. The rat – hole miners of the rescue team worked manually to broke through the remaining length of debris and pushed a pipe to the workers on 28th November. Then workers were evacuated one by one by the rescue team . At about 20:50 IST , the Government of Uttarakhand confirmed that all the workers had been successfully rescued. Forty one ambulances were ready for them. They were reported to be in good condition and were taken to an initial medical facility in Chinyalisaur . Next day they were airlifted to AIIMS , Rishikesh aboard an Indian Air Force CH-47 Chinook helicopter for further medical assessment. It was a great job together to rescue all of the workers safely. The whole country breathed a sigh of relief after the successful rescue operation.
A . Read the passage and answer the questions below – 1×5=5
1 . Write the name of the tunnel where the collapse occurred?
2 . How many workers were trapped ?
3 . Write the name of the operation started by the state government to save the workers .
4. How many ambulances were ready for the workers ?
5. Which helicopter was used for airlifting?
B. Fill in the blanks with suitable information from the passage – 1×5=5
1 . The collapse happened on ———————————-.
2. The rat- hole miners worked ——————————————————–.
3. The rescue operation continued for —————————————————–.
4. The tunnel was planned to connect ——————————————————.
5. The workers were airlifted to ——————————————————.
C. Write the name of the agencies involved in the rescue operation. 3
D. Write a suitable title for the passage and provide a reason to choose the title. 2
Writing Skills –
1 . Write a newspaper report about the rescue operation in Uttarakhand Tunnel collapsed. 10
2. Write a short paragraph on Uttarakhand tunnel collapsed. 10
3. After listening the news of Uttarakhand tunnel collapsed, whole country was worried about those trapped workers. Write a dialogue with your friend expressing your sigh of relief after the successful rescue operation. 10
