'Every day, we hear two more hours': Anxiety at peak in Jharkhand village as tunnel rescue hits setback

Ever since the news reached a paralysed Shravan Bediya, 55, whose only son Rajendra is trapped there, the desperation on his face became palpable even though he is confined to his bed.

In Khirabeda, the anxiety has now reached its peak as three people from this nondescript village on the outskirts of Ranchi are still stuck in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand where the rescue operation hit another setback.

The blades of the auger machine drilling through the rubble of the tunnel were on Saturday stuck in the debris, forcing officials to consider switching to options that could drag on the rescue of 41 trapped workers by several days - even weeks.

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Ever since the news reached a paralysed Shravan Bediya, 55, whose only son Rajendra is trapped there, the desperation on his face became palpable even though he is confined to his bed.

Besides 22-year-old Rajendra, two others from the village -- Sukhram and Anil, both in their early twenties, are trapped inside the tunnel for two weeks now.

Sukhram's mother Parvati, who is also paralysed, has been inconsolable since she found out about the disaster that happened in Uttarkashi.

In Anil's house, his grieving mother has not cooked anything for the last two weeks. The family has been surviving on whatever food their neigbours are providing.