Telangana: Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to visit SLBC tunnel collapse site

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is expected to visit the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapse site on March 2, as rescue operations continue to save the eight workers trapped since February 22

Hyderabad: Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is expected to visit the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapse site today, as rescue operations continue to save the eight workers trapped since February 22. After an on-ground inspection, he will hold a review meeting with the officials spearheading operations carried out by multiple agencies including Indian Army, Navy and the NDRF.

Four of the missing workers, whose location has been identified with the use of the Ground Penetrating Radar by the NGRI, are expected to be reached by Sunday evening. The Chief Minister’s review is to be scheduled ahead of the crucial operation. Families of the trapped workers, who have been waiting anxiously for the outcome of the operations, are eager to meet the Chief Minister.

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Four ministers including N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Jupally Krishna have been monitoring the operations on a day-to-day basis, while Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy have visited the tunnel as part of the stock taking exercise.

The incident occurred when a section of the tunnel roof collapsed at the 14 km mark near Domalapenta in Nagarkurnool district on February 22. While 42 of the 50 workers including two engineers deployed in the tunnel managed to escape, eight of them were trapped.

The debris removal clearing the cave-in site gained momentum with the conveyor belt that had issues, being restored partly on Saturday. The Minister for Excise, Jupally Krishna Rao made it clear that only a miracle could save the trapped workers as their survival chances were limited.

The rescue mission, described as one of the most complex and challenging in recent history, involved multiple agencies, including the Indian Army, Navy, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).