Hyderabad, 25 Feb
Alleging negligence by the Congress government, the main opposition BRS in Telangana on Tuesday demanded a judicial probe into the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel collapse, which led to eight people getting trapped inside for four days.

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 accident.

In a statement, he accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of prioritising the campaign for the MLC polls over relief measures at the tunnel.

He alleged the state government allowed tunnel construction without obtaining necessary approvals from Geological Survey of India (GSI) experts.

Rama Rao claimed a pattern of such incidents under the Congress regime, citing the alleged "washout" of the Peddavagu project in Khammam and the collapse of the Sunkishala project's retaining wall, which was meant to supply drinking water to Hyderabad.

He further alleged the operation to rescue the eight people trapped since Saturday has been progressing slowly.

In response to the BRS leader's comments, Congress Lok Sabha member Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said this is not the time for politics, as the focus should be on rescuing those trapped inside the tunnel.

"As an opposition party, they have every right to question the government on matters related to public welfare. However, this is not the time to argue with each other. Instead, we should focus on finding a way to save those eight people," he told PTI.

However, he alleged that politics has been the primary agenda for BRS every day, every hour, and every minute.

Just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi called Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to inquire about the relief measures, there should be a constructive approach, he said.

The SLBC project, once completed, would benefit lakhs of farmers in the Nalgonda district, he added.