DEHRADUN: After more than 117 hours of one of the most challenging tunnel rescue operations in Uttarakhand, 12 workers were brought out alive, while 10 workers tragically lost their lives.
The massive operation brought together personnel from the Uttarakhand Police, Fire Service, SDRF, NDRF, ITBP, Army, CISF, DDRF and district administration, working in extremely difficult underground conditions to locate, rescue and evacuate the trapped workers.
The successful rescue of the 12 workers has been hailed as a remarkable example of courage, coordination and perseverance.
But alongside the relief has come anger over the compensation announced for the families of those who died.
₹5 lakh for a life-long loss? Uttarakhand citizens and civil society organisations have questioned the project authority's decision to offer only ₹5 lakh as compensation for each deceased worker.
They argue that the issue is not merely the immediate financial assistance. In several cases, the deceased worker was the principal breadwinner, supporting children, elderly parents and other dependants.
A one-time payment of ₹5 lakh, they say, cannot reasonably compensate a family for the permanent loss of its earning member.
Civil society representatives have now written to the Prime Minister's Office and the Union Ministry of Power, demanding that the next of kin of the deceased workers be provided honourable and substantially enhanced compensation.
They have also questioned whether compensation at such a low level is appropriate for workers who lost their lives while engaged in a major infrastructure project in the fragile Himalayan region.
Beyond compensation, questions of safety
The tragedy has once again brought the safety of workers employed in Himalayan tunnel and hydropower projects under scrutiny.
Uttarakhand has witnessed repeated tunnel-related emergencies, underlining the extraordinary risks faced by workers operating deep inside mountains where unstable geology, water ingress and difficult access can turn a routine construction activity into a disaster.
The latest rescue also demonstrated the enormous public resources and multi-agency effort required when something goes wrong underground.
Personnel from multiple specialised forces had to work for days under hazardous conditions to reach the trapped workers.
That raises an uncomfortable question: if the State and the nation can mobilise such enormous resources to save workers after an accident, should the same seriousness not be reflected in preventing accidents and adequately compensating families when lives are lost?
The Uttarakhand civil society groups have therefore urged the Centre and the project authorities to look beyond the immediate ex-gratia payment and formulate a fair rehabilitation and compensation package for every bereaved family.
For the rescued workers, the operation ended with the light of freedom after more than four days underground.
For the families of the dead, however, the rescue operation ended with a funeral and a loss that will last a lifetime.
Their families deserve not charity, but dignity, justice and meaningful long-term support.
