"We are doing our best to save lives": Telangana Minister on SLBC tunnel collapse

Minister Singh told reporters after inspecting the tunnel, "We are doing our best to save the lives..."

He also slammed the opposition for politicising the issue and acknowledged that this operation is "most difficult" due to an exit on one side only.

"First, we want to say that the 44 km Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel will be a boon to the people and farmers of Telangana...Do they want everything to be politics? It is shameful...National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Rat miners feel this is the most difficult operation in the world. This tunnel has an exit only on one side," he said.

The Minister said that the government is monitoring the operation.

"This incident has happened probably due to a tectonic shift. 10 agencies, including Indian Army, Indian Navy's MARCOS commandos, NDRF, SDRF, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have come together for this operation. We all are overseeing the operation. Anyone who is criticising this operation should have shame...," Singh said.

These are the same Rat miners who were part of the successful rescue operation for the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand that happened on October 31st last year.

A three-meter section of the roof of an under-construction stretch of the SLBC tunnel collapsed at the 14 km mark near Domalapenta in Nagarkurnool district, Telangana, on Saturday morning. The collapse occurred just four days after construction work had resumed following a lengthy hiatus. While some workers managed to escape, the eight remained trapped.

Earlier, endoscopic and robotic cameras were brought to the Nagarkurnool (SLBC) tunnel on Monday for the rescue operation. The NDRF Dog Squad has also been deployed to assist in the operation.

Engineer Task Force (ETF) of Indian Army deployed it's equipment and medical teams to clear debris and facilitate safe evacuation of trapped persons from the collapsed tunnel. (ANI)