Telangana govt forms technical committee to carry out search ops in critical zone of SLBC tunnel

Hyderabad, The Telangana government on Wednesday formed a technical committee to carry out the search operation to extricate the six persons who remain untraced in the partially collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal , Geological Survey of India , National Centre of Seismology , and various state government departments.

According to a Government Order issued by Arvind Kumar, Special Chief Secretary , Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, in a meeting held on March 24, directed that all-out efforts should be made to locate, trace, and extricate the remaining six missing workers.

"As for the last 30–50 metres from the tunnel end, which the GSI advised against entering due to the vulnerable condition of the rock in that area, it was suggested that a technical committee of expert agencies be constituted to examine various possible options," the GO said.

The committee should be formed so that search operations can be carried out in this vulnerable zone scientifically, without compromising the safety of rescuers and under the guidance of the agencies, it said.

The continuing efforts of the last 55 days have ensured that the muck and metal from the dismantled Tunnel Boring Machine is cleared up to the last 50-metre stretch.

In the process, more than 800 tonne of metal and a very large quantity of muck have been taken out, it said.

However, the last stretch, being close to the end of the tunnel, is extremely vulnerable, it said.

In the present circumstances, undertaking any effort to explore the possibility of locating missing workers in this stretch and trying to extricate their bodies might result in further sudden collapse and could put the lives of rescuers in danger, the GO said.

The technical committee shall specifically look into the technically feasible and safe manner for taking up rescue efforts in the critical zone of the last 50 meters so that the bodies of the remaining six missing workers can be extricated and handed over to their families in a time-bound manner, it said.

"The purpose of constituting this committee is to conclude the rescue efforts in a safe manner without compromising the lives of rescuers," it said.

The committee shall follow the technical advice of the subject expert agencies and shall carry out the search work after duly obtaining all necessary approvals and permissions from the appropriate agencies, it added.

Meanwhile, an official release said the search operation has been continuing since the day of the accident, with the involvement of multiple agencies.

A total of eight individuals—including engineers and labourers—were trapped in the SLBC project tunnel when a portion of it collapsed on February 22. So far, two bodies have been recovered from the debris in the tunnel.

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