Hazaribag: A 45-year-old excavator operator from Hazaribag district was among those killed in the tunnel collapse at the under-construction Teesta Stage-VI Hydroelectric Project of NHPC in Sikkim’s Namchi district.Jageshwar Thakur, a resident of Tilaiya Basti under Kolhuakala panchayat in Barhi block, was identified on Thursday by his elder son, Rahul Sharma, who had travelled to Sikkim following the July 20 tragedy.Jageshwar was working as a Poklain machine operator at the project when a portion of the hill caved in. Officials said 27 workers were inside the tunnel at the time of the accident.The body was identified with the help of an identity card found on him. The post-mortem examination was conducted on Thursday.Rescue operations continued for the fourth consecutive day. Sources said the bodies of 20 workers had been recovered so far, while more than five were still feared trapped.Jageshwar was the sole earning member of his family.Barhi BJP MLA Manoj Kumar Yadav spoke to Rahul, expressed condolences and assured him of assistance. He urged the company to transport the body at the earliest and demanded adequate compensation, a government job for one family member and a pension for the victim’s dependants.Rs 4 lakh from the Sikkim Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) have been sanctioned.
Jageshwar Thakur