Four of five Odisha workers trapped in Uttarakhand tunnel return to home state

Bhubaneswar: Four out of five workers from Odisha, who were rescued from the Uttarakhand tunnel, returned to Bhubaneswar on Friday and were given a rousing welcome by the state government.

The four workers along with their family members accompanied by state Labour Minister Sarada Prasad Nayak and Labour department officials arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here at around 1 pm. One of the workers stayed in Uttarakhand in his relative’s home and he will return later, officials said.

Five Odisha workers were among the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway in Uttarakhand for 17 days and were rescued on November 28 evening.

The five rescued workers hailing from Odisha are Raju Nayak, Dhiren Nayak and Bisweswar Nayak from Mayurbhanj district, Bhagwan Batra from Nabarangpur and Tapan Mandal from Bhadrak district. Tapan stayed in Delhi while four others returned to Odisha.

The state government has given a rousing welcome to the labourers at the airport. The workers thanked the state government for its support during such a tragic period.

"On the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, two Labour department officials from Odisha rushed to the site just a day after the incident. I was camping in Uttarakhand for the last eight days," said the labour minister.

As many as 41 workers from nine states were trapped in the tunnel. While the family members of the workers from other states reached the spot selling their jewellery, the Odisha government took the family members of the five workers to the site to give moral support to the trapped workers, he said.

The workers are likely to meet the chief minister later this afternoon. Chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives) V K Pandian on Thursday spoke to the five Odia workers through a video call. Pandian had enquired about their health and discussed the facilities in the hospital.

Meanwhile, the family members of the workers are eagerly waiting in their native villages to see their loved ones at their homes.