New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Former Union minister and Vice Chairman of Gandhi Darshan Vijay Goel on Monday performed a 'havan' at Connaught Place's Hanuman temple for rescue of 41 workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand.

Rescue operations are being carried out on a war footing since portions of the tunnel collapsed following a landslide on November 12, leaving 41 workers trapped behind a huge mound of debris.

The Silkyara tunnel, about 30 km from the district headquarters of Uttarkashi and a seven-hour drive from Dehradun, is part of the Char Dham all-weather road project of the central government.

'We are praying for the well-being and safe rescue of the the 41 trapped workers. The entire country is praying for them and we are appealing to others too to join because they are common people,' Goel told PTI.

He said that the government was making every effort to rescue the workers and latest equipment were deployed for it. PTI VIT MNK VIT MNK MNK