The Telangana state government faces ongoing major obstacles to restart and finish the ambitious infrastructure project following the roof collapse at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel at Domalapenta in Nagarkurnool district two and a half months ago. The ₹4,600 crore tunnel project exists to move water from the Krishna River through Srisailam reservoir while simultaneously supporting irrigation for 400,000 acres in Nalgonda district and drinking water access for 516 villages on its transmission route.
The complete length of the SLBC tunnel measures 44 kilometres. Construction work had reached 20.5 kilometres from the Devarakonda end and 14 kilometres from the inlet side at Domalapenta. Project acceleration through two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) functioning at both construction ends. The tunnel operation ceased on February 22 after workers resumed construction on a 9.6km tunnel section from the inlet side located deep within the Nallamala forest range when the cavern’s roof collapsed. Eight workers, including two engineers, remained trapped alive in the tunnel when the incident occurred.
Search operations continue with delayed progress due to dangerous conditions since the beginning of the operation. Two workers remain trapped inside the Telangana tunnel since the collapse—Gurpreet Singh, who worked as a TBM operator, sent his last message from Punjab on March 9th, followed by project engineer Manoj Kumar from Lucknow on March 25th. Broadly speaking, the officials maintain that the six trapped bodies remain near a “critical zone” at 43 meters from the entrance, but the site continues to represent an extreme risk to any potential rescue operation.
Special officer Shivashankar Lotheti, who heads the rescue operation, confirmed that moving forward will be risky. The government operates under growing pressure to protect workers from harm as it decides which direction the essential yet problematic project will take.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News