LUCKNOW, DEC 9   :   Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday felicitated the members of the Rat Hole Mining Team, who displayed their guts and courage in rescuing the workers trapped in a Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand.

In an event held at SP state headquarter, Akhilesh felicitated the rat miners by offering an Angvastram and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh each. He congratulated Ankur Kumar, Monu Kumar, Naseem, Mohd Irshad, Vakil Hasan, Zahoor Hasan, Firoz Qureshi, Mohd. Rasheed, Nasruddin, Irshad, Jatin Kashyap, Saurabh Kashyap, Munna and Devendra.

On this occasion, Vakil Hasan, the leader of the rescue team, said that he was more happy meeting the SP chief than he was on saving his comrades trapped in the tunnel.

It may be noted that the rescue operation went on for 17 days to safely rescue 41 workers trapped in the tunnel in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. When the American agar machine failed during the rescue operation, a rat mining team was called. After their hard work and the prayers of the country, the mission was completed. The work done by the brave soldiers of Rat Hole Miners was saluted across the country for their spirit.(UNI)