(L-R, top row) The 12-member team of rat-hole miners from Rockwell Enterprises Wakeel Hassan (leader), Monu Kumar, Feroze Qureshi, Nasir Khan, Jatin, Devender Kumar, (L-R, bottom row) Munna Qureshi, Irshad Ansari, Rashid Ansari, Naseem Malik, Ankur and Saurabh who successfully rescued the 41 trapped workers from the under-construction Silkyara Bend-Barkot Tunnel, in Uttarkashi district.
Credit: PTI Photo
Jamshedpur: Six labourers of Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district, who were trapped in an under-construction tunnel of Uttarakhand and rescued after 17 days, were felicitated by the local administration on returning home, an official said.
They were all airlifted from Uttarakhand to Jharkhand's capital Ranchi on Friday night and brought to the collectorate office here in their home district on Saturday, he said.
The workers were felicitated on the direction of District Magistrate-cum-Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri, who could not attend the function personally owing to the visit of Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan in Baharagora, about 90 km from here.
In his absence, Deputy Development Commissioner Manish Kumar and Sub-Divisional Officer (Dhalbhum) Piyush Sinha welcomed the workers after they returned safely.
The labourers were honoured with shawls by the officials.
The administration wished them a bright future and hailed them for their patience and courage to overcome such a difficult situation.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had directed the officials concerned to include the workers in the government's schemes such as 'Abua Awas Yojana', 'Pension Yojana', 'Ayushman card', 'Mukhyamantri Rojgar Srijan Yojana", etc.
The labourers expressed their gratitude to the chief minister for bringing them back home safely.
Forty-one workers were trapped after a portion of the Silkyara tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway in Uttarakhand collapsed last month. All of them were rescued.
Fifteen of them were from Jharkhand.