#LearningsFromSilkyara
4th December 2023
Every man attains perfection and success by devoting to prescribed duty as per their natural abilities and disposition – Bhagavad Gita 18.45
I cannot get a better example of the above Gita sloka than the most recent and incredible #SilkyaraTunnelRescue operation.
#RagingRatMiners
I was not aware of the breed of skilful workers known as #RatMiners until they came and proved their mettle in finishing the last mile of manual tunnelling in record time rescuing 41 trapped workers.
Entire world appreciated the grit and determination of these 12 rat-miners but they are not the fancied group otherwise and neither their profession brought them loads of money. A job which could not be completed by high tech machines was made possible by the rat miners. It is inspiring to note how these people made this possible.
When the auger machine got stuck, 12 rat-miners from Bundelkhand were engaged to do the manual drilling. A group of three rat-miners first entered the pipe initially and crawled to the debris on Monday 27th November night. One person did the digging, the second put the debris in the trolley and the third person kept the trolley on a shaft through which it was pulled out. On average, they were able to dig 0.9 meters per hour. They were replenished with a fresh group of 3 almost every hour. By 3pm on Tuesday, they had drilled 12-13 meters to reach the workers.
There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes. – William J. Brennan, Jr.
Rat-mining is banned now and these people struggle for their survival but they waited patiently doing odd jobs and did their exemplary contribution when it mattered most. You can make any job worthwhile if your attitude is positive.
There are few other personalities and learnings from this rescue operation. Let us see some of them here in this Monday Musings episode.
#PositiveLeadership
The 41 workers freed from the collapsed Silkyara tunnel endured 17 days in an underground prison in unliveable conditions without proper food for large part of 17 days, without communication with the external world for most part of the troubled days- a circumstance guaranteed to test the resolve of most and which called for a strong leader to help the men stay calm. That inspirational leadership role was provided by a foreman who was also in the group of trapped workers, #GabbarSinghNegi.
Mr Negi taught his colleagues yoga and meditation, ensured they stayed physically and mentally active, gave them the hope that they all would be rescued and underlined his commitment to their safety by telling them he would be the last to be rescued. This inspirational leadership made it possible that all the 41 workers endured the hardships with hope and determination. That all 41 survived the disaster with few injuries, and emerged with big smiles, is due, in no small part, to the effort of Gabbar Negi in keeping a potentially catastrophic situation under control.
Several of the rescued workers highlighted Mr Negi's role in keeping them safe and happy, which included playing games like ludo, chess and chorpolice.
True leaders always practice three ‘R’s, Respect for Self, Respect for Others and Responsibility for all their actions.
Being POSITIVE in a negative situation is not naïve, It is LEADERSHIP
#LeadingFromTheFront
There are few striking lessons from the way the Australian tunnelling expert Arnold Dix guided the rescue operation.
#ArnoldDix heads the Geneva-based International Tunnelling Underground Space Association and is also a geologist, an engineer and a lawyer. Arnold was roped in by the Government of India to provide technical advice during the rescue operation.
1. From the time he landed at the rescue site, He was seen leading literally from the front. He did not limit himself to providing advisory from the cozy comforts of his room. He was at the site daily coordinating with various rescue agencies offering his suggestions at the field. Leadership is leading from the front.
2. He assumed leadership of the team about whom he did not know anything but that never was an issue for him. His confidence in the mission inspired the multi-dimensional rescue team. He quipped confidently in the beginning that all the 41 workers would be rescued safely and would join their families before the Christmas. Have confidence in your and your team’s abilities and keep reiterating that commitment.
3. I happened to watch his interview after the successful conclusion of the operation. Very inspiring. He was very humble in the interview and gave the credit to the competence and commitment of various teams involved in the rescue operation. “If national agencies hadn't cooperated the way they did, there's no way we would have got this outcome. We were all one big team{ was his comment.
“A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame, and a little less than his share of the credit.” – John Maxwell
4. The operation was well planned and well strategized. Rescue was possible in 17 days because the team employed multi-pronged strategy including first quickly establishing 4” pipeline for sending basic food, in parallel working on a 6” pipeline for sending solid food in bottles and for sending cameras and messages. Horizontal and Vertical drilling was attempted simultaneously because time is of essence. When the auger machine got stuck and mechanised drilling could not proceed further, quick decision was taken to toss the ball to the rat-miners. Decisions would have been taken by multiple stakeholders but I shall give the credit to the leader. Great leadership lesson
Expect the best, plan for the worst and prepared to be surprised when it matters.
5. Arnold was seen offering his prayers at the temple of local deity Baba Bokh Naag ji after the successful rescue operation. When people asked him about this he said “the mission witnessed a miracle and he had promised to say 'thank you' at the temple when the operation was going on”. Stay humble and grateful.
GOOD NEWS COLUMN
3rd December is the #InternationalDayOfPersonsWithDisabiliites. Best wishes to persons with disabilities and kudos to scores of people who make the life of people with disabilities little more easier and enriching.Greet, congratulate and celebrate the resilience of people with disabilities in your circle of contacts.
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_____________________________________________________________________________________ Conceived, compiled and posted by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com) as a weekly newsletter in LinkedIn and Youtube.