Telangana govt to resume work at ill-fated SLBC tunnel

Telangana government is all set to resume tunnelling operations in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC), where a cave-in had resulted in the deaths of eight workers in February this year.

Despite several attempts, bodies of only two out of eight workers buried alive could be retrieved after months. State irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy described the SLBC tunnel as a crucial lifeline for Telangana and directed officials to resume tunnelling operations for the remaining 10 km, saying it should be treated as a top priority.

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Reddy held a review meeting on the SLBC tunnel in which noted tunnel engineering expert Colonel Parkshit Mehra, who joined the irrigation department on deputation, participated. He was also part of the rescue team that had worked for months to retrieve the bodies from the SLBC tunnel.

General Harpal Singh, former engineer-in-chief of the Indian Army, will also soon join the department. The two ex-military personnel have been roped in to complete the challenging SLBC tunnel project. Despite the technical challenge posed by the SLBC tunnel, the government is keen to complete the project, which will bring water from Srisailam Dam to Nalgonda and Khammam districts and irrigate four lakh acres.

The irrigation minister said, “Its completion must be treated as a top priority and executed with agency.” He iterated that the cost would not be a constraint, but quality and speed must be maintained at the highest standards.

The minister directed officials to resume tunnelling, drilling and blasting in the SLBC tunnel. The irrigation department is collaborating with the Geological Survey of India and the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) to use the latest electromagnetic survey technology.

The minister directed officials to expedite LIDAR Survey. The project was taken up during the tenure of YS Rajasekhar Reddy in the united Andhra Pradesh. After the formation of Telangana, the BRS did not proceed with the project, considering the challenges.

It was resumed only after the Congress government assumed office but the tragedy in February again halted work. It was due to constant water seepage, the point in the tunnel where the bodies were believed to be buried was designated as unstable by the experts. The state government deployed robots and even rat miners but could not retrieve the remaining bodies.