Chamoli (Uttarakhand) [India], August 15 : Congress leader Harikrishna Bhatt on Saturday emphasised that safety audits should have been conducted days after water and debris entered a tunnel under construction at a hydroelectric project site in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident.
CM Dhami said, "At the THDC tunnel under construction in Chamoli, a sudden surge of debris and water trapped 22 workers who were on duty at the time... Search operations are ongoing for the three individuals yet to be rescued. All agencies, including the NDRF, SDRF, and the Uttarakhand government's district administration, are keeping a constant watch on the situation."
He emphasised that "safety of personnel must be our top priority"
"I have ordered a magisterial inquiry to uncover the facts clearly and determine what precautions need to be taken in the future. The safety of the personnel working on any construction project must be our top priority, at any cost. I issued instructions to this effect yesterday," the CM added.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "Regarding the announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh, a human life cannot be valued at merely Rs 4 lakh. Safety audits should have been conducted for all such ongoing projects. The entire population of Uttarakhand is bearing the brunt of these disasters, which are man-made. There is a need for a thorough analysis to determine what actual interests the people of Uttarakhand have in these large-scale projects."
The death toll in the Pipalkoti tunnel accident rose to eight on Saturday after rescue teams recovered one more body from the site.
Operations are currently underway to locate and evacuate two other individuals who remain trapped inside the under-construction THDC tunnel.
Providing an update on the intensive rescue efforts, Chamoli Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Vivek Prakash on Saturday stated that the teams are battling difficult weather conditions and high water levels to reach the missing personnel.
"We have been putting in efforts... There was a lot of water there. We have managed to reduce the water level. Today, one body has been recovered and sent to the hospital by ambulance. We are still searching for the other two [people]; our teams are at it, and we expect to recover them soon," ADM Prakash told ANI.