Congress and BRS Engage in Blame Game Following Telangana Tunnel Incident

Hyderabad, March 2 (NationPress) The collapse of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel and the extended operation to rescue eight individuals trapped within has intensified political tensions in Telangana. Both the BRS and BJP have criticized the ruling Congress, holding it responsible for the unfortunate incident.

This event has ignited a new discussion surrounding irrigation projects, with both the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Congress exchanging accusations regarding the mismanagement of the irrigation sector.

Since the Congress government marked its first year in office in December 2024, it has found itself under scrutiny as opposition parties chastised it for allegedly jeopardizing lives by executing the project without adequate planning.

The protracted rescue efforts, hampered by the intricate nature of the crisis occurring 14 kilometers into the under-construction tunnel, further exposed the government to opposition criticism.

Both the BRS and BJP lambasted Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for failing to visit the accident site in Domalapenta, located in the Nagarkurnool district, even once.

By checking on the tunnel, BRS and BJP leaders sought to apply additional pressure on the government, attributing the incident to its negligence and dismissing ministerial visits to the site as a mere ‘picnic’.

BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy led a delegation of BJP MLAs to the tunnel on March 1, accusing the government of negligence that led to the disaster.

He demanded clarity on the precautions taken to assess the earth’s condition within the tunnel, which is situated in a shear zone, asserting that if the trapped individuals are found deceased, the government should face consequences.

While criticizing the Congress-led administration in the state, the BJP leader acknowledged the rapid response from the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, noting that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive, the Army, Navy, NDRF, and other Central agencies have been involved in the relief operations.

He also condemned Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and other ministers for opting to visit the site via helicopter daily instead of remaining on-site.

Previously, BRS leaders, spearheaded by former minister T. Harish Rao, inspected the tunnel and criticized the government for the mishap.

Claiming a lack of proper planning, the senior leader noted that no attempts were made to send oxygen past the debris.

He explained that the pipe designed to provide oxygen was damaged by the rubble, yet the government made no effort to deliver oxygen through an alternative pipe to the area where the eight individuals were believed to be trapped.

Uttam Kumar Reddy dismissed the BRS leaders’ visit as mere political theatrics, recalling that in 2020, after the Srisailam Left Bank Power Station explosion that resulted in nine fatalities, no BRS leaders visited the scene. He mentioned that when Revanth Reddy attempted to meet the families of the victims, he was arrested.

Minister Reddy recounted that during the flooding of the Devadula lift irrigation project tunnel, seven workers lost their lives, and their remains were only recovered after five years. He questioned why Harish Rao had remained silent during those events but was now delivering lectures on the SLBC tunnel incident.

The Irrigation Minister attributed blame for the SLBC tunnel accident to the BRS, asserting that had the project been completed during its decade-long governance, the accident would not have occurred.

He argued that if the project had been finalized on schedule, it would have supplied 30 tmcft of water to Telangana, benefiting three to four lakh acres of agricultural land in Nalgonda district.

Uttam Kumar Reddy further stated that the government does not require Harish Rao’s unprofessional advice, as professionals with expertise significantly greater than his are managing the rescue efforts.

“Is Mr. Harish Rao attempting to demean the Indian Army, Navy commandos, BRO teams, and other experts who are risking their lives in this rescue?” he questioned.

The ruling party also brushed aside the criticism regarding the Chief Minister's absence at the accident site, asserting that his presence would have disrupted the rescue operations.

“I have piloted numerous fighter jets. I do not use helicopters for leisure like BRS leaders,” remarked Uttam Kumar Reddy, a former pilot in the Indian Air Force, responding to the scrutiny over his helicopter visits to the accident site.

The Congress government reaffirmed its commitment to completing the SLBC tunnel project despite facing challenges. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy pledged to finalize it at all costs, aiming to irrigate approximately four lakh acres.

“The tunnel’s collapse occurred due to the previous BRS administration halting work on the project for a decade as they failed to receive commissioners from the contractor,” stated Revanth Reddy.

In contrast, Harish Rao contended that they initiated dewatering when it was at 10,000 liters per minute before resuming work after Telangana's formation. He claimed that they were incurring expenses of Rs 1.5 crore monthly for dewatering alone.

The BRS leader added that the BRS government had excavated roughly 12 km of the tunnel and spent Rs 3,900 crore, compared to Rs 3,300 crore expended by the Congress government between 2005 and 2014.

The incident also sparked a passionate debate over irrigation management by the BRS over the past decade and its administration by the Congress government in the last 14 months.

The Minister accused BRS president and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, along with Harish Rao, of incapacitating the irrigation sector, alleging that they allocated Rs 1.81 lakh crore to projects that failed to deliver water as promised.

He pointed out that the Kaleshwaram project, on which the BRS invested over Rs 1 lakh crore, failed, while the Palamuru-Rangareddy project, costing Rs 27,500 crore, did not irrigate a single acre.

Holding Chief Minister Revanth Reddy accountable for the SLBC tunnel disaster, BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao remarked that this incident occurred even before the memory of the Sunkishala retaining wall collapse could fade.

He accused the Congress government of compromising work quality by receiving commissions from contractors and called for a judicial investigation.

Rejecting the claims, Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy assured that once the workers are safely rescued, the government will ensure the tunnel work resumes within the next two to three months and is completed on schedule.

The SLBC tunnel incident transpired shortly after the Congress government recommenced work on the long-overdue project. SLBC is an essential part of the Alimineti Madhava Reddy Project (AMRP), which began in 1983 to provide water to the arid regions of Nalgonda and Nagarkurnool districts.

The 44-km tunnel is engineered to transport 30 tmcft of Krishna River water from the Srisailam dam via gravity. Experts indicate that the tunnel operations face difficulties due to its location in a geologically fractured zone and groundwater aquifer.

What postponed the rescue efforts in the SLBC tunnel was the absence of an outlet point. Typically, entry and exit points for a tunnel are established at every 5 km; however, due to the proximity to the Amrabad Tiger Reserve, such points are not permitted within the 44-km tunnel.