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Communist Party of India MP Binoy Viswam has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in which 41 workers are trapped and said development activities in the Himalayan ecosystem should be undertaken after careful study of the region.
The CPI MP also emphasised the social security of workers and said stakeholders and employers should ensure generous insurance amounts to workers working in hazardous and dangerous surroundings. "The concerning developments from the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand have worried the entire country. The incident of the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel and 41 workers being trapped inside have shaken the nation. It's been two weeks since the workers are trapped inside and reports suggest that it may take a few more days to complete the rescue operation," the letter said. "These developments have brought to fore certain issues worthy of consideration to prevent such a mishap and to deal with the situation justly," it added. The CPI MP said that the workers trapped inside the tunnel for 14 days belong to relatively poor backgrounds with little social security. "Their poverty compels them to undertake jobs in such hazardous and unsafe environments. The tunnel collapse fortunately did not claim any life otherwise bread-winners of families would be cruelly snatched away," he wrote. "It's our duty to protect our workforce from any seen or unforeseen uncertainty in such a situation. Therefore, I urge you to take immediate steps and impress upon all stakeholders and employers to mandatorily ensure generous insurance amounts to workers in hazardous and dangerous surroundings," he added. Viswam, who is working president of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), said an issue that has surfaced is the way of development in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. "The Himalayas are young and still-evolving mountains with potential of great volatility," he said. "The climate of the entire sub-continent is dependent upon the Himalayas and tempering with the natural balance can have disastrous consequences, as was seen recently in the sinking town of Joshimath. In this context, development activities should be undertaken only after careful study of the region and without harming nature," he added. (ANI)
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