Telangana: Rahul Gandhi expresses concern over tunnel roof collapse incident

The collapse of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district has drawn concern from several political leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Leader of the Opposition of Lok Sabha expressed distress over the incident, emphasising that rescue operations were being carried out with full efforts from the state government and disaster relief teams. In his post on X, he reassured that everything possible was being done to rescue the trapped individuals.

"I have been informed that rescue operations are underway, and the state government along with disaster relief teams are doing everything possible to expeditiously bring back those in danger," he said.

The Congress is in power in Telangana.

Eight persons were trapped in a tunnel after a section of it collapsed in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project on Saturday, 22 February.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy of all possible assistance from the Centre for the ongoing rescue efforts.

In addition to the deployment of NDRF and SDRF teams, Modi has offered the aid of experts from the Silkyara rescue operation, which took 17 days to successfully extract 41 trapped workers from a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand last year.

Teams of NDRF and SDRF have reached the spot and a team of army personnel is on its way, a senior police official told PTI.

The trapped individuals, including two site engineers, remain inside the collapsed section of the tunnel, while challenges such as slush and darkness hinder the rescue efforts. Authorities continue to work tirelessly to bring them to safety.

With PTI inputs