When the 41 workers were stuck in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel for almost a week, the Union government decided to deploy the column of 201 column of Engineering Regiment on November 18. The regiment is popularly known as Madras Sappers.
The column was commanded by Colonel Dhirender Joshi and was instructed to take over the rescue operation if required. The Madras Sappers are part of the Indian Army’s three groups that form the Corps of Engineers. The other two groups are Bombay Sappers and Bengal Sappers.
The task of the Madras Sapper column at the rescue operation included fabrication of rescue contraptions, making a modified circular casing for the evacuation of the workers, and fabrication of casing for vertical drilling — an option that was kept reserved if the horizontal drilling failed. The Madras Sappers also assisted the civil authorities in the rescue operation.
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The Madras Sappers are part of the Indian Army’s three groups that form the Corps of Engineers.
With its regimental headquarters located in Bengaluru, is amongst the oldest units of the Indian Army and was founded in 1780. The personnel from the Madras Sappers are fondly known as thambi which translates as ‘younger brother’ in Tamil.
Apart from the Madras Sappers, personnel from the National Disaster Response Force were primarily involved in the rescue operation.
In war, combat engineers from the Madras Sappers provide mobility to forces by constructing bridges, tracks and helipads at a short notice.
The Madras Sappers owes its origin from the erstwhile Madras Presidency Army of the British Empire and is older than the other two groups of the Corps of Engineers – Bengal Sappers and Bombay Sappers.
