Express News Service
LUCKNOW: Every passing moment since November 12 night had been very difficult for Sunita Devi (40) and her four children as her husband Ram Milan, the sole bread earner of the family, was stuck inside the Silkyara tunnel, when a large amount of debris collapsed choking the tunnel.
The family took a sigh of relief on Tuesday night when their prayers were heard and Ram Milan was rescued successfully with 40 of his mates stuck in the Silkyara tunnel for further last 17 days.
Hailing from Raniyapur hamlet next to Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Shravasti district, Ram Milan is among the eight laborers from Uttar Pradesh who were trapped inside the tunnel.
Among them, six hail from the Tharu schedule tribal community of remote Motipur gram sabha just seven kilometers away from the UP-Nepal border.
Motipur has 12 hamlets with a population of 5,000, inhabiting a dense forest area. Among the rescued laborers from the Tharu community are identified as Ankit Kumar from Motipur, Jay Prakash, Ram Sundar, and Santosh Kumar from Bacchupurva and Satyadev from Raniyapur.
ALSO READ | President, PM, political leaders hail operation rescuing trapped workers from Uttarakhand tunnel
The other laborers from UP include Akhilesh Kumar and Manjeet from the Lakhimpur Kheri area. All eight laborers had joined the tunnel project in Uttarkashi three months ago with the help of a contractor. While Ram Milan got trapped in the unfortunate choking, his brother-in-law Pachu Ram was saved by a whisker as he was in a shift earlier and had come out at 7 pm ending his shift. We are poor but made of steel.
Nothing can scare Tharu men. On November 12, I had a day shift and my work (grinding stone) inside the tunnel ended up at around 7 pm. While Ram Milan and other men’s shifts started at 8 pm. Radhey Shyam gram pradhan of Motipur feels that all six men from his gram sabha have a strong will which helped them sail through the crisis.
ALSO READ | All 41 workers rescued from Uttarakhand tunnel after 16-day ordeal; taken to local health centre
“We live with leopards and dig mountains. We may be the most backward, but our men are brave. Everyone in the village prayed for the well-being of all those trapped in the tunnel. Our prayers have been answered,” he says.
Ram Milan was trapped along with his elder cousin Satyadev who is the father of two children. On the other, for the mother of Manjeet, 25, of Lakhimpur Kheri’s Bhairampur village, the wait to see her son is becoming unbearable. Content with the news of his successful rescue, she is now finding it difficult to wait for his son’s return to her. Manjeet’s father Chaudhury is present in Uttarkashi at the site of the tunnel.
“I am happy. Now I will be able to sow my last sapling (Manjeet) with my own hands. Almighty is great. He was with us, “ says Chaudhury failing to control his tears and claiming that those are the tears of joy.
Manjeet has got parents, grandfather, and two sisters to look after and for them he had gone to Uttarkashi to work in the tunnel. Follow channel on WhatsApp
LUCKNOW: Every passing moment since November 12 night had been very difficult for Sunita Devi (40) and her four children as her husband Ram Milan, the sole bread earner of the family, was stuck inside the Silkyara tunnel, when a large amount of debris collapsed choking the tunnel.
The family took a sigh of relief on Tuesday night when their prayers were heard and Ram Milan was rescued successfully with 40 of his mates stuck in the Silkyara tunnel for further last 17 days.
Hailing from Raniyapur hamlet next to Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Shravasti district, Ram Milan is among the eight laborers from Uttar Pradesh who were trapped inside the tunnel.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Among them, six hail from the Tharu schedule tribal community of remote Motipur gram sabha just seven kilometers away from the UP-Nepal border.
Motipur has 12 hamlets with a population of 5,000, inhabiting a dense forest area. Among the rescued laborers from the Tharu community are identified as Ankit Kumar from Motipur, Jay Prakash, Ram Sundar, and Santosh Kumar from Bacchupurva and Satyadev from Raniyapur.
ALSO READ | President, PM, political leaders hail operation rescuing trapped workers from Uttarakhand tunnel
The other laborers from UP include Akhilesh Kumar and Manjeet from the Lakhimpur Kheri area. All eight laborers had joined the tunnel project in Uttarkashi three months ago with the help of a contractor. While Ram Milan got trapped in the unfortunate choking, his brother-in-law Pachu Ram was saved by a whisker as he was in a shift earlier and had come out at 7 pm ending his shift. We are poor but made of steel.
Nothing can scare Tharu men. On November 12, I had a day shift and my work (grinding stone) inside the tunnel ended up at around 7 pm. While Ram Milan and other men’s shifts started at 8 pm. Radhey Shyam gram pradhan of Motipur feels that all six men from his gram sabha have a strong will which helped them sail through the crisis.
ALSO READ | All 41 workers rescued from Uttarakhand tunnel after 16-day ordeal; taken to local health centre
“We live with leopards and dig mountains. We may be the most backward, but our men are brave. Everyone in the village prayed for the well-being of all those trapped in the tunnel. Our prayers have been answered,” he says.
Ram Milan was trapped along with his elder cousin Satyadev who is the father of two children. On the other, for the mother of Manjeet, 25, of Lakhimpur Kheri’s Bhairampur village, the wait to see her son is becoming unbearable. Content with the news of his successful rescue, she is now finding it difficult to wait for his son’s return to her. Manjeet’s father Chaudhury is present in Uttarkashi at the site of the tunnel.
“I am happy. Now I will be able to sow my last sapling (Manjeet) with my own hands. Almighty is great. He was with us, “ says Chaudhury failing to control his tears and claiming that those are the tears of joy.
Manjeet has got parents, grandfather, and two sisters to look after and for them he had gone to Uttarkashi to work in the tunnel. Follow channel on WhatsApp
