Why was there no escape route? Could the benefits of the highway expansion project have unduly tilted the decision against what an even-handed assessment of risks would recommend?
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said while "we salute the rescued workers and applaud the entire rescue team", there should be a reflection on some larger questions thrown up by the tunnel collapse.
When fancy drilling machines couldn t make it through the rocks, the rescuers had to use an old-fashioned mining method called rat-hole digging to get to the workers.