'Uttarakhand Govt Should Claim Responsibility For Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse': AAP Leader Saurabh Bharadwaj

New Delhi: Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday asserted that the Uttarakhand government should take responsibility for the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse incident that has trapped 41 workers since November 12.
Speaking to ANI on the incident, the Delhi minister said, "I extend my best wishes to the family members of the trapped workers. The Uttarakhand government should take responsibility for this incident. They should claim responsibility for why an incident this big took place in the first place."
He questioned how the construction project was carried out without any soil testing and standard operating procedures. "It is a coincidence that all the workers are safe because they luckily got a space to stay in. How was this big a construction project working without any soil testing and standard operating procedures?" the AAP leader questioned.
He demanded that the people who are responsible for this incident must be punished and advised Uttarakhand Government to be more attentive. "These are basic things. All the names of the people who are responsible for this incident must come to light. The government should have been more attentive since such types of incidents have taken place in Uttarakhand before as well," Bharadwaj added.
Meanwhile, a total of 41 ambulances have been arranged at the spot of Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel, where 41 workers remain trapped.
Mukesh Nautiyal, the Project Manager of Operation 108 Ambulance Initiative, said that out of 41 ambulances, 31 are '108' while the other 10 have been provided by the administration. Earlier in the day, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi and prayed to the Baukh Nag Devta for the well-being of all the trapped workers.
Former advisor to the Prime Minister's Office, Bhaskar Khulbe who reached the Silkyara tunnel collapse site on Thursday morning, said that the entire steel obstructing the free movement of the pipe inside has now been removed.
According to the state government official, the rescue operation is at the final stage as the trapped workers are likely to be pulled out today. On November 12, a portion of the under-construction tunnel from Silkyara to Barkot collapsed and debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel trapped 41 labourers inside. The workers are trapped in a 2 km-built portion, which is complete, including concrete work that provides safety to the workers. —ANI