The Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi has called in a Madras Sappers engineer group from the Indian Army's Corps of Engineers to perform manual drilling where 41 workers have been stuck for the previous fifteen days.
To speed up the rescue efforts, thirty members of the engineer regiment have decamped at the location.
Rat boring will be performed inside the tunnel by the Indian Army and civilians as a manual drilling technique.
"To do manual drilling, the Indian Army along with civilians will dig out the debris inside the tunnel with weapons like hands, hammers and chisels and then the pipe will be pushed forward from the platform built inside the pipe," a government source said.
The official added that 41 people were stable and safe inside the tunnel. When the plasma cutter arrived earlier today, it started cutting the machine that was lodged in the pipeline.
According to an official, the tunnel project could be finished in fifteen hours if the American Auger machine is taken out of the pipeline by plasma cutters by the evening.
Additionally, officials disclosed that the rescue team involved in the operation has determined that the pipeline will be advanced by hand-drilled small holes at a time.
"Even if there is any obstruction in this process, that problem will be solved manually and the pipeline will be sent further to some distance," officials said.