BRS Working President KT Rama Rao has demanded the immediate formation of a judicial commission led by a sitting High Court judge to investigate the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel accident.
Alleging gross negligence by the Congress government, KTR held Chief Minister Revanth Reddy responsible for prioritising election campaigns over rescue operations.
KTR accused the government of allowing tunnel construction without
mandatory approvals from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) experts, calling it a “shocking display of incompetence and inexperience.”
He questioned the Chief Minister’s absence during the rescue operations while eight workers remained trapped. “Is there no time for the CM to ensure the rescue of these workers while flying around in helicopters for poll campaigns?” he asked.
Pointing to a series of mishaps under the Congress regime, KTR recalled three major accidents in the last 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 amounting to hundreds of crores.
With workers trapped in the SLBC tunnel 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 proper technical studies or GSI approval 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.
Taking a dig at ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, KTR said 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 Rs 300 crore damage to machinery. Shockingly, they feel proud of such a failure,” he added.
