Tension escalated at the SLBC tunnel site when BRS leaders, including former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao, arrived this afternoon to inspect the ongoing rescue operations. A large number of party leaders, including former MLAs and MLCs, also reached the site. However, the police restricted their entry, allowing only four leaders to proceed.
Rescue operations have entered sixth day, with efforts still underway to save the eight workers trapped inside the tunnel since February 22. Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who had set a two-day deadline for completing the rescue mission, visited the site again today to oversee the progress.
Meanwhile, Jaypee Group chairman Jaiprakash Gaur, whose company is responsible for the tunnel construction, assured that work would resume only after the trapped workers were safely evacuated. The 94-year-old industrialist acknowledged that he had witnessed several similar incidents throughout his career, citing previous accidents in Tehri, Bhutan, and Jammu & Kashmir. He emphasized that such incidents are not uncommon in challenging engineering projects.