Enquiring about their health and well-being individually, the chief minister also asked about their families and since when they had been working in Uttarakhand, an official spokesman said

He presented shawls and gifts to all the workers, who said that they kept hope and courage intact all through the difficult period while encouraging each other

We were sure that we would definitely come out, they said Ankit (25), Ram Milan (32), Satyadev (44), Santosh (24), Jai Prakash (22), Ram Sunder (26) -- all of Shravasti district -- Manjit (22) of Lakhimpur Kheri and Akhilesh Kumar (32) of Mirzapur district were among those who met the chief minister

The workers got trapped inside the tunnel in Uttarakhand after a portion of it collapsed on November 12. They were rescued on Tuesday following 17 days of a multi-agency operation

Food, medicines and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the rubble of the collapsed portion

Interacting with the mediapersons before meeting the chief minister, one of the workers said that he went to work at the Silkyara tunnel three months ago

"After being rescued, I met my father who was present at the site. I would now like to go home and spend time with my family members," he said

Another worker while recounting the days of ordeal in the tunnel said that a signal for help was sent through a pipe and they all left their fate to god

"It was when the camera was put in the tunnel that we got the hope that we would be rescued with large-scale rescue works going on outside," he said