Celebrations abound ahead of homecoming

Khirabera, a tribal hamlet 40 km from Jharkhand's capital city Ranchi, heaved a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday evening after news of the 41 trapped workers emerging out of the partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand after a 17-day herculean rescue operation broke out. The village is home to three of the rescued workers - Anil Bediya, Sukhram Bedia and Rajendra Bediya.

Sanju Devi had been spending sleepless nights, anxiously waiting for any news of her younger son Anil Bediya's rescue. But when the news reached her ears, she said she will only believe it when she sees her son. "Each day was passing like an age. Though I am heaving a sigh of relief, I will only believe it when I will see him," Devi, who was sitting by her husband Charku Bedia in their unplastered brick home, told HT.

Fighting her tears of joy, Devi is filled with gratitude for the rescuers and administration. "Bhagwan sabka bhala karein (May god bless all)," she said.

Fifteen of the 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel since November 12 were from Jharkhand. Apart from them, eight workers were from Uttar Pradesh, five each from Bihar and Odisha, three from Bengal, two each from Assam and Uttarakhand and one from Himachal Pradesh.

Sharvan Bediya, who lives barely 400 metres from Anil's house, says his 23-year-old son Rajendra being rescued from the tunnel has come as the first positive news for the family in days as they lost Rajendra's cousin brother Dinesh Bedia in an accident on November 21.