Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday felicitated the team of rat-hole miners from Delhi which took part in the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi.
These rat hole miners are associated with the Delhi Jal Board’s team, involved in manual excavation works.
The entire team met the CM who praised them for their contribution and helped extracting the trapped workers.
The team members interacted with the Delhi CM and shared their experience of the rescue operation.
Speaking to media after the meeting, a miner thanked Chief Minister Kejriwal for meeting them and further said that the team members are always ready for the country and its people, be it for the work they do for the DJB, working for the water and sewer pipelines and other related mining works, or whatever they are tasked to do.
Another team member said he is happy that he got to do something for the country, and said the rescue was the result of the combined efforts of all.
Along with Kejriwal and Atishi, Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj was also present in the meeting with the miners.
A team of rat- hole miners were called at the Silkyara tunnel site to take part in the rescue operation and perform manual drilling applying the technique after the broken Auger machine was extracted, and to take the operation further ahead.
Meanwhile, rat-hole mining is a process in which narrow tunnels are dug manually, that are usually 3-4 feet high, and this technique is used for extraction of coal.