Hyderabad: The Telangana govt would complete the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnelling works by June 2028, Telangana irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said. He said the govt was taking all the safety measures for the workforce engaged tunnel works and speed never should come at the cost of the safety.The minister held a review meeting on SLBC tunnel works and other projects in Nalgonda districts like Dindi project on Monday and said the SLBC project was not merely an engineering exercise but the fulfilment of a long-pending promise to the drought-hit and fluoride-affected people of south Telangana.He said the state govt would clear bottlenecks, resolve land acquisition issues, strengthen technical supervision and ensure that the SLBC tunnel and canal network are completed together.Since resumption of SLBC tunnel work with advanced technologies using observation techniques half a km of progress has already been achieved. Progress from Devarkonda side is steady. All precautions are being taken to ensure safety of the teams at work on Srisailam side too, he said.The minister said three arm boomers have already reached Mumbai port and would be reaching site by the month end which will further accelerate the progress. “The state govt is committed to completing the SLBC tunnel as by June 2028. Whatever has to be done will be done,” he told officials.He directed officials and contractors to provide adequate lighting throughout the tunnel, deployment of senior geologists, authority engineers and technical experts, and continuous quality monitoring. He said protecting the workforce while meeting the project deadline was non-negotiable.He said manpower at the tunnel site had been increased three-fold. “Machinery is being mobilised, tunnel lining works are progressing and additional specialised equipment is being brought in to accelerate construction,” he said.Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the SLBC tunnel has been designed to draw 40 TMC of water from the Srisailam Reservoir to irrigate nearly 4 lakh acres. The revised administrative approval for the project is about Rs 12,718 crore. Overall, the project will create irrigation potential for 4.01 lakh acres, provide drinking water to 618 fluoride-affected villages, and meet industrial and other water requirements.Giving equal importance to the Dindi Project, Uttam Kumar Reddy said it is an integral part of the overall AMR-SLBC system. He said completion of the Dindi Project, Nakkalagandi Reservoir, Pendlipakala Balancing Reservoir and the canal network is essential to ensure that the full benefits of the project reach farmers and rural communities.ends/
