As rescue operation drags on, locals seek divine intervention

Even as multi-agency teams are involved in efforts to rescue the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara tunnel, villagers of the area are praying for the success of the operation by invoking local deities. One of the ways they are doing so is by singing Garhwali folk ‘jagars’, which are devotional songs meant to seek protection of the deities. On Friday, 63-year-old Kushpal Singh Parmar of Dhanari village reached the tunnel site and sang a ‘jagar’, whose lyrics went like this: ‘O lord, please awake and listen to my appeal. Don’t get angry o lord, shower your blessings so that people are safe.’