Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has directed the Chief Secretary to appoint senior IAS officer Shiva Shankar Loteti as the special officer to monitor and oversee the ongoing rescue operations at the collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel.
The rescue efforts, which have been underway since February 22, aim to find eight trapped workers in the tunnel. As of now, only the body of Gurpreet Singh has been recovered on March 9, while the remaining seven individuals remain unaccounted for. It has been over a month since the accident, and rescue teams have continued to work tirelessly to locate the missing workers.
CM Revanth Reddy convened a meeting on Monday to review the status of the rescue operations. He urged officials to expedite the process and ensure that all necessary resources are mobilized for a swift resolution. Ministers N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Jupally Krishna Rao, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, and other senior officials participated in the meeting.
During the review, Arvind Kumar, State Special Chief Secretary for Disaster Management, and Colonel Parikshit Mehra briefed the Chief Minister about the progress made over the past month. They informed him that 25 agencies, including various wings of the Central and State governments as well as private organizations, are involved in the operation. A total of 700 personnel have been working tirelessly to clear debris, dismantle parts of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), and address issues like soil mounds, silt, and seepage water inside the tunnel.
Rescue efforts have been hindered due to the poor lighting and air conditions inside the tunnel. The collapse occurred 14 kilometers from the tunnel’s inlet in an area that spans 30 meters, considered one of the most dangerous zones due to the soft earth and constant flow of water. Rescue teams are taking extreme care in this high-risk zone.
The operations are being conducted under the expert guidance of Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), which are providing crucial insights into the geological state inside the tunnel. Additionally, CM Revanth Reddy instructed officials to obtain any necessary permissions from the Union Government to facilitate emergency work in the tunnel.
Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy reported that the next phase of work involves manually digging the remaining one kilometer of the tunnel, with additional work on 9.5 kilometers still pending. The SLBC project was launched to provide irrigation water and drinking water to fluoride-affected areas in Devarakonda and Munugodu constituencies in Nalgonda district, utilizing the Srisailam backwaters.
The accident, which occurred on February 22, trapped eight workers inside the tunnel, sparking an urgent rescue operation. CM Revanth Reddy reiterated the importance of continuing operations to locate the trapped workers, following the guidance of the Expert Committee.
The ongoing efforts remain a high priority for the Telangana government, with the hope of locating the remaining workers as quickly and safely as possible.
