The Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, Yashpal Arya has alleged that the Silkyara tunnel incident has exposed the level of disaster management not only in the State but also at the national level. He said that for the past one week, the people of the country and the opposition were morally standing with the government and the agencies engaged in the operation to rescue the 41 stranded workers in this hour of crisis, but patience is wearing thin now. Arya said that along with undertaking the rescue work, the government will also have to fix accountability. He said this a day before his planned visit to Silkyara.

The LoP said, “It is an unfortunate situation wherein 41 people have been stranded in the tunnel for about a week and still new experiments are being done every day in the name of rescue. The government should clarify whether there was a provision for edit tunnel and escape tunnel for debris removal and rescue in the original project of construction of this tunnel. If this provision was there in the project and the company was working without an edit tunnel and escape tunnel, then a criminal case should also be registered against the company under relevant sections. If these important provisions were not made in the project report, then a criminal case should also be filed against the construction department,” Arya said.

He further alleged that there has been a disregard for setting standards and safety options in the construction of this major project which is why options are being explored after the accident.  He also alleged that poor quality work is being done in national highways projects across the country. The NH works are being done negligently and at rates quite higher compared to rates in the State departments, he added. Arya is slated to reach Silkyara on Monday to take stock of the situation.