HYDERABAD: The state government on Wednesday constituted a 12-member technical committee to oversee and conclude the rescue operations at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel, with a particular focus on locating and extricating the bodies of six missing workers.
The committee includes senior officials such as the NDRF commandant, the director of CSIR, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, and the director of the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, among others. An official government order was issued to this effect.
“The rescue efforts over the past 55 days have resulted in the removal of muck and metal from the dismantled tunnel boring machine (TBM) up to the last 50-meter stretch. During the process, more than 800 tonnes of metal and approximately 1,200 cubic meters of muck have been cleared,” the government stated.
However, it added, “The remaining stretch, being close to the tunnel’s end, is extremely vulnerable, and its structural integrity may be compromised by ongoing muck removal activities.”
The order further noted: “In the critical zone—within 20 meters of the current tunnel face—the existing natural platform should not be disturbed and should instead be used to strengthen the crown position.”
Under the current circumstances, any attempt to locate the missing workers or retrieve their bodies from this stretch may cause a sudden collapse, endangering the lives of rescuers, the government warned.
Following a review held on March 24, the state government reaffirmed its commitment to recovering the bodies of all six missing workers. Despite sustained efforts by various agencies, the bodies are believed to be buried under muck in the critical zone.
To address this, the government has formed the technical committee to identify safe and effective methods for extrication.
It may be recalled that eight workers were trapped in the SLBC tunnel on February 22. So far, two bodies have been recovered.
