“I don’t want my son to work further in the tunnel”, says a grieving Chaudhary, father of Manjeet, one of the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi.

A resident of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, the 50-year-old Chaudhary is suffering from vision loss in one of his eyes.

Manjeet, 22 years old, has been trapped in the Silkyara Tunnel since November 12.

During the day, a Magna Rod cutter machine has been deployed to speed up the rescue the drilling operation, an ONGC official said.

The development comes after a plasma cutter machine flown from Hyderabad to cut the auger machine got stuck in the debris of the Silkyara tunnel, officials said.

Chaudhary said that he does not want his son Manjeet to take up this work again after he is rescued anytime soon.

Chaudhary said, “Manjeet’s mother, sister and locals are praying to see Manjeet come out safely and return to his village. We will do farming, animal husbandry or start a small business at home.”

Chaudhary has already lost his elder son Deepu (22) in a bridge construction accident in Mumbai.

The family is finding it hard to keep both ends meet as Manjeet is the sole breadwinner for the family.

Choudhary added that he will do something else even at the age of 50, “but he wants his son to live with him in the house now.”

After a portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12, the debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel trapped 41 labourers inside the under-construction structure.