HOPE FLOATS BUT OPTICS FOR NOW

There was a glimmer of hope on Tuesday for the 41 construction workers who remain trapped in the tunnel of sorrow-Silkyara-Barkot, in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, since November 12.

For the first time, after authorities pushed an endoscopic camera through the six-inch food pipe, construction workers were visible on the screen. For the families of the labourers waiting outside the tunnel, this brief visual was a psychological relief, holding out the hope that their dear ones could be evacuated safely.

These labourers, hailing from Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Himachal and Uttarakhand, have been trapped in the rubble of the collapsed unfinished tunnel which is part of the Char Dham all-weather road, for the last 11 days.

Both the Centre and the state government have been facing flak for not doing enough to save the lives of the labourers, which is why the Centre, along with National Disaster Response Force, has decided to focus on the optics to deflect further criticism. The government has ensured that press releases issued by the PIB stress on the optics of the moment. There were stories of how a food pipe was pushed through the rubble last night, to deliver eatables for those trapped. Stories were splashed across mainstream and social media about how the labourers were served hot food packed in plastic bottles for the first time since they were trapped. Until last night, they had been surviving only on dry fruits and water, which was being funneled through a small water pipe.