SLBC Tunnel Collapse: Dewatering, silt removal in progress; non-stop water flow is biggest challenge

Hyderabad: Dewatering and loads of silt are being removed from the tunnel collapse site at Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) as rescue teams try to find a way in and rescue the eight trapped workers.

Truckloads of silt has been scraped out and dewatering is being done constantly. Rescue teams are using electrical equipment, plasma cutters and high-grade shutters to cut the huge pipes and other metal objects at the site.

No communication yet with the eight trapped workers

Rescue team comprising officials from Army, NDRF, SDRF and other groups are constantly dewatering the tunnel route while wading in streams and silt. The teams have no choice but to work amid the continuous flow of water inside the tunnel, posing a hindrance to their efforts.

Although, the teams have been calling out the names of the trapped workers at regular intervals, there has been no response from them.

11 agencies including international rescue groups at the site

Tunnel accidents are complex and in the case of Srisailam the penetration of water in the rescue area has been the biggest challenge.

Irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said, “We have 11 agencies here, national and international, assisting in the rescue and relief operations.” “This accident is one of the most complex and complicated tunnel accidents in the history of India. It is the first time, national and international organisations, are working together for rescue. It will take two more days,” he said.

“This is an extremely challenging operation and the best experts in the field are involved. They are working selflessly, risking their own lives to complete this rescue,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said. He added that precautionary restrictions have been imposed at the site to ensure the safety of both workers and rescuers.

BRS neglected SLBC project for a decade, says Uttam

Uttam Kumar Reddy strongly condemned BRS leaders, especially Harish Rao, for his criticism of the rescue operations.

He blamed the previous BRS regime for the tunnel accident, stating that it neglected the SLBC project for a decade. He accused them of abandoning the work and failing to complete the project, which, if finished on time, would have provided 30 TMC of water to Telangana, benefiting three to four lakh acres of agricultural land in Nalgonda.

He also slammed Harish Rao, saying his advice is not needed, as professionals with ‘expertise 1,000 times higher than him were handling the situation.’

‘Empty theatrics’

The minister dismissed the BRS leaders’ visit to the accident site as mere political theatrics. “They came here to stage a drama and left after putting on a show,” he said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy pointed out that during the Srisailam Left Bank Power Station blast, where nine workers lost their lives, no BRS leader ever visited the site. He recalled that when chief minister A Revanth Reddy tried to visit the victims, he was arrested and taken to a police station. Similarly, in the Devadula project, where seven workers died, their remains were recovered only after five years.

He questioned why Harish Rao never spoke about these incidents when they happened under the BRS regime.