Why Dhami, VK Singh went to Baba Baukhnag's temple after rescue

As the last ambulance carrying one of the 41 labourers rescued from an under-construction road tunnel left the site in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district for a community health centre on Tuesday evening, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union minister V K Singh went straight to a temple of local deity Baba Baukhnag to express their gratitude for his blessings.

At a press conference held soon after, Dhami said the small temple of Baba Baukhnag, located near the mouth of the Silkyara tunnel, will be rebuilt.

A partial collapse of the Silkyara tunnel on November 12 had left the 41 construction workers trapped inside. The accident was attributed by the residents of the area to the local deity's anger as the temple dedicated to him was demolished just a couple of days ahead of Diwali.

The construction agency had initially argued that the temple was demolished for the construction of the road tunnel, which is a part of the Centre's ambitious Char Dham project in Uttarakhand.

However, the mistake was realised soon and a small temple of the deity revered by the locals as their protector was erected at a corner of the tunnel to seek his forgiveness.

Regular puja of the deity was held to bless the rescuers for accomplishing the mission that frequently ran into hurdles.

The rescue workers pulled out all the 41 labourers trapped in the tunnel on Tuesday evening, in a multi-agency operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days.