By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
NHPC’s 280 Mw Dhauliganga hydel project in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand remained operational even after landslides struck the outside portion of the powerhouse that had trapped 19 workers including a couple of company officials inside on Saturday night, a government official said on Wednesday.
District Magistrate Pithoragarh Vinod Goswami initially on Sunday had said eight workers were brought out of the tunnel in the first phase after a rescue operation was launched by the district authorities following the landslides. Later rest of the 11 workers were also brought out of the tunnel, a press statement quoting Goswami claimed on the same day Sunday.
After the Pithoragarh district authorities’ claim, a new video emerged on Monday capturing some contractual workers still inside the powerhouse.
In the video the workers said they are doing their duty inside the project for the past three days. “We are inside the project because of the landslides outside,” said a worker without identifying himself. However, the worker claimed they have all the required food with them and that they are safe.
This video surfaced as state CPI-ML leader Indresh Maikhuri claimed that a handful of workers who were still inside the project have contacted him and said they are doing duty. “The reality is that the employees and officers who are inside the tunnel for emergency operation, as told by Pithoragarh District Magistrate, have started their fourth day in the power house tunnel today. As has already been said, movement is not possible due to heavy landslides at the mouth of the tunnel, so the shifts of the employees are not being changed,” Maikhuri said in a social media post along with the video.
As the video went viral, the NHPC officials brought out the remaining 11 workers, mostly contractual, on Tuesday outside and sent others in their place so that the project remained operational round the clock, a government official from Ailagarh area said.
The landsides at Ailagard where the project is located in Pithoragarh district were triggered by the heavy rains that had been pounding the area in the past few days, officials said.
Dhauliganga Power Station (4×70 MW) is a run of the river project to harness the hydro power potential of Dhauliganga river. The Power Station was commissioned in the year 2005.