Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a review meeting with senior officials on Saturday and announced that the state government would provide accommodation, food and health facilities to the families of the workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara Tunnel, located on the Uttarkashi-Yamnotri road. According to an official release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), “Chief Minister Dhami said that the state government will provide accommodation, food and health facilities to the families of the workers.”

He also directed the Garhwal Commissioner that all arrangements for accommodation, food and health should be made for the families of the workers in Chinyalisour and its surrounding areas. The Chief Minister has also given instructions to continuously coordinate with the families of the workers and give updates on the relief and rescue operations. Additionally, instructions were given to the officers to take every necessary step to remove any kinds of obstacles in the rescue operation. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is continuously taking updates on the rescue operation. All possible support is being given by the state government to the agencies working at ground zero,” said the CMO.

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Safe evacuation for all the workers trapped in the tunnel is the top priority of the government and work is being done rapidly in this direction, it added. Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, Special Principal Secretary Abhinav Kumar, Secretary to Chief Minister Shailesh Bagauli, Vinay Shankar Pandey, Additional Director General of Police Law and Order Anshuman, Director General of Information Banshidhar Tiwari and officials of the Chief Minister’s Office were present in the review meeting. Earlier in the day, Chris Cooper, a microtunneling expert, arrived at the Silkyara tunnel incident site to monitor the rescue operation.

The under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway collapsed in the early hours of November 12. The 4531-metre Silkyara Tunnel is part of the Chardham Project of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and will link the Gangotri and Yamunotri axis under the Radi Pass area. The tunnel is being constructed by NHIDCL through Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd. at a cost of Rs 853.79 crore.

Source ANI