Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Bengal BJP MLA writes to Modi seeking financial support for trapped workers from state

The MLA stated that among the 41 trapped workers, Souvik Pakhira and Joydeb Pramanik are residents of Pursura assembly constituency in the Hooghly district. The BJP leader said that he knows the two workers and their families personally.

Kolkata: A BJP MLA from West Bengal has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking financial help for two of the 41 trapped workers in the Uttarkashi tunnel, who are residents of his Assembly constituency in the state.

Biman Ghosh, who represents Pursurah assembly constituency, in a letter to the prime minister stated that the “way the government is trying hard to rescue the trapped workers is satisfactory and commendable”.

Ghosh stated that among the 41 trapped workers, Souvik Pakhira and Joydeb Pramanik are residents of Pursura assembly constituency in the Hooghly district. The BJP leader said that he knows the two workers and their families personally. He added that the two are the only earners for their families that are below the poverty line.

Ghosh added that after the “tragic and painful”, and “unexpected” incident, he recently met the members of the families of the two workers, and is in contact with them. The families, he stated, are living “in great anxiety for their family members” who are trapped. “In this position they have full faith and trust in the government,” he mentioned.

The BJP MLA added that the daily-life of the family members of Pakhira and Paramanik, has “come to a standstill”, affecting students’ education, and “patients’ medicine”. This is because the two workers are not in a position to send money to their homes. The family members, the MLA wrote, have prayed for financial help.

Ghosh has prayed before the prime minister to make “a suitable arrangement” for financial help to the families “directly or through administrative machinery” and for rescuing all trapped workers “expeditiously”.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress on its official X-handle, has held the BJP responsible for the tunnel-collapse. The party alleged that “myopic & unscientific” projects were undertaken, neglecting fragility and carrying capacity of Himalayan landscape. The party blamed the BJP for disregarding essential safety measures for maximising profit.