Hyderabad: Telangana’s main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Tuesday demanded a judicial probe into the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel accident.
BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao demanded the immediate constitution of a judicial commission led by a sitting High Court judge to investigate the collapse of the tunnel.
Alleging gross negligence by the Congress government, he held Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy responsible for prioritising election campaigns over relief efforts.
KTR, as the former minister is popularly known, criticised the state government for allowing the tunnel construction without necessary approvals from Geological Survey of India (GSI) experts, describing it as a “shocking display of incompetence and inexperience”.
He questioned the Chief Minister’s absence from relief operations while eight workers remained trapped. “Is there no time for the CM to ensure the rescue of these workers while he flies around in helicopters for campaigns?”
The BRS leader was referring to the three public meetings addressed by the Chief Minister as part of the Congress party’s campaign for MLC elections.
Highlighting a pattern of mishaps under the Congress regime, KTR recalled three major accidents in the past 14 months. He cited the complete washout of the Peddavagu project in Khammam and the collapse of the Sunkishala project’s retaining wall – meant to supply drinking water to Hyderabad – causing losses worth hundreds of crores.
Referring to the SLBC tunnel collapse, where workers have remained trapped for over 72 hours, KTR expressed deep concern over the slow pace of rescue operations. He accused the government of recklessness, stating that restarting the tunnel project without technical studies or GSI approval directly endangered lives and public money. “If you didn’t do any technical study before restarting the project and carelessly put lives and public funds at risk, you have no one to blame but yourselves,” he said.
Lashing out at ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, KTR remarked that while one was “shamelessly singing praises of their work”, the other remained “clueless” despite the crisis. “After four days of work at SLBC, all they have to show is eight missing workers, debris, slush, and a Rs 300 crore damage to machinery. It is appalling that they feel proud of such a failure,” he added.
Demanding a comprehensive judicial inquiry, KTR urged the Congress government to reveal the truth behind the SLBC accident and the Sunkishala wall collapse. He called for swift action involving Central government agencies and the Army to expedite rescue efforts.
(IANS)
