Telangana Special Chief Secretary (Disaster Management) Arvind Kumar with members of the rescue team at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel project site in Domalpenta village, Nagarkurnool district on February 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal
With more than 80 hours after the collapse of a portion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) Tunnel leaving eight persons working inside trapped and no trace of their whereabouts, the Telangana government has written to the Centre to conduct a seismological study by National Centre of Seismology to assess the volume of cracks and the extent of water saturation of the affected area.
With nine specialised rescue teams drawn from Centre and the State governments besides other agencies working round-the-clock, no breakthrough could be achieved till Tuesday (February 25) night. On Tuesday also teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies made a vain bid to reach the site of the disaster but with little success.
In the letter to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Telangana’s Special Chief Secretary (Disaster Management) Arvind Kumar said that a portion of the ongoing construction of SLBC tunnel works collapsed at 13.9 kms from the starting point for a portion of about 200 metres, which left eight workers trapped inside. He said the assistance of NDRF, SDRF and other teams that were involved in Silkyara tunnel rescue are being utilised.
He pointed out that that the portion that collapsed is underneath a rock which is about 400 metres deep. As a result of the collapse, a loud explosion took place and water came gushing in along with silt leaving the eight persons working in the front side of the Tunnel Boring Machine trapped while others managed to escape.
The letter said the investigative team from the National Centre of Seismology would be provided with support of field vehicles and manpower during the installation of the equipment and the field investigation of the affected area.
NRSC, GSI help sought
In the meantime, responding to a request from Telangana, the National Disaster Management Authority has requested the National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad and Geological Survey of India to conduct surface and sub-surface assessment of the incident site. It was mentioned that the assessment was needed for safety of the teams carrying out rescue operations.
Four ministers review situation
Deputy Chief Minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Jupally Krishna Rao and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy at the contract agency’s (Jaiprakash Associates) site office near the mouth of SLBC tunnel that removal of slush and dewatering should be given first priority to facilitate the rescue teams make a headway and reach the exact spot of accident where the two engineers, two technical staff and four workers are trapped at Domalpenta village of Nagarkurnool district on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
Nagara Gopal
As the situation appeared to be turning grim by each passing hour, four ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar ReddyTourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao and Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy held a detailed review meeting with the agencies involved in the rescue operation. Two rounds of meetings were held with the unified command personnel.
At the second meeting with the unified command members, the Ministerial team said the primary focus was to trace out the workers. It was pointed out that the loco inside the tunnel could travel upto 13.5 km by on Tuesday evening. It was noted that slush pumping machine should not be made operational even though two such machines were present. They hoped that dewatering could be completed by Tuesday night. Representatives of Jaypee Associates, the agency executing the tunnel work told the meeting that conveyer belt has been rectified.
Published – February 25, 2025 09:27 pm IST
