’17 days long time’: What PM Modi said to 41 Uttarkashi tunnel workers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to the 41 workers who were rescued from the Uttarakhand Silkyara tunnel after 17 days of tireless efforts of the Centre and the state governments along with other agencies.

Congratulating them for their battle, PM Modi said 17 days are not a brief period and it was commendable that the workers did not lose hope. “We have the blessings of Kedarnath, Badrinath. Had something untoward happened, I can’t describe how we could have taken that. You all have shown exemplary bravery,” PM Modi said.

“You had each other’s back throughout the crisis. At a moment of crisis like this, it is not rare to get into a little tu tu-main main. This happens even in a railway compartment. But you all have remained united,” PM Modi said.

A worker told PM Modi that they never felt scared even for a moment down there inside the entrapment. “We stayed together like brothers. We used to eat together. After dinner, we used to walk inside the 2.5 km tunnel. In the morning, we used to do yoga because we were doing nothing else inside there,” the worker said.

As the worker mentioned Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union minister of state General VK Singh (Retd), PM Modi said, “Yes, VK Singh was there the whole time. He showed his Army training and discipline.”