JAMSHEDPUR/DEHRADUN: On a day when the country was celebrating the safe rescue of 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand on Tuesday, father of one of the trapped men died before he could get the good news. Resident of Kundaluka village under Dumaria police station in Ghatshila subdivision of Jharkhand, Baset Murmu (65) was the father of 26-year-old rescued worker Bhuktu.
“All that Baset did on Tuesday was discuss the rescue operation with his son-in-law Thakar Hansda,” a relative said, adding, “One day, two days, a week, two weeks of wait…It was too much for the elderly man.”
Hansda said he was sitting on a cot near his father-in-law and briefing the elderly man about the rescue operation, which had reached its last leg, when Baset collapsed around 8am on Tuesday. He was taken to a hospital but it was too late.
“My father-in-law longed to see his son. After November 12, when news of the accident in Uttarkashi came out, he was never really the same. Every day it was the same question: ‘When is Bhuktu coming home’,” Hansda said.
Baset’s wife Piti said that her husband was always inquiring about the rescue operation with almost everyone he would meet since the mishap occurred. “I am shocked and deeply saddened on hearing about the death of my father,” said Bhuktu over phone from AIIMS-Rishikesh.
“My family members told me that since the tragedy occurred, he always prayed for my safe return, but eventually when I got out from the tunnel, my father is not alive to give me a hug,” Bhuktu added.
Baset has three sons and a daughter – the eldest one, Ramrai (30), works at a factory in Andhra Pradesh, and the youngest, Mangal (24), lives with them in the village. Bhuktu’s wife Punta lives in her mother’s house in Dhalbhumgarh with her two children.
Bhuktu is one of six workers from Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district who were trapped in the Silkyara tunnel.
“All that Baset did on Tuesday was discuss the rescue operation with his son-in-law Thakar Hansda,” a relative said, adding, “One day, two days, a week, two weeks of wait…It was too much for the elderly man.”
Hansda said he was sitting on a cot near his father-in-law and briefing the elderly man about the rescue operation, which had reached its last leg, when Baset collapsed around 8am on Tuesday. He was taken to a hospital but it was too late.
“My father-in-law longed to see his son. After November 12, when news of the accident in Uttarkashi came out, he was never really the same. Every day it was the same question: ‘When is Bhuktu coming home’,” Hansda said.
Baset’s wife Piti said that her husband was always inquiring about the rescue operation with almost everyone he would meet since the mishap occurred. “I am shocked and deeply saddened on hearing about the death of my father,” said Bhuktu over phone from AIIMS-Rishikesh.
“My family members told me that since the tragedy occurred, he always prayed for my safe return, but eventually when I got out from the tunnel, my father is not alive to give me a hug,” Bhuktu added.
Baset has three sons and a daughter – the eldest one, Ramrai (30), works at a factory in Andhra Pradesh, and the youngest, Mangal (24), lives with them in the village. Bhuktu’s wife Punta lives in her mother’s house in Dhalbhumgarh with her two children.
Bhuktu is one of six workers from Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district who were trapped in the Silkyara tunnel.