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New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Uttam orders urgent completion of SLBC tunnel, ropes in top experts to fast-track work
HYDERABAD: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy has directed officials to immediately resume the remaining tunnelling operations, including drilling and blasting, of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC). Calling SLBC a crucial lifeline for Telangana, he emphasised that its completion must be treated as a top priority and executed with urgency. An estimated 10 kilometres of tunnel work remains to be completed. On Saturday, the minister held a review meeting with officials of the Irrigation department to discuss various issues. During the meeting, he noted that the SLBC tunnel work is being undertaken using the latest electromagnetic survey technology, in collaboration with the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and the Geological Survey of India (GSI). To ensure precise planning and seamless execution, he directed officials to expedite the aerial LIDAR survey. Earlier in the day, he met NGRI scientists to finalise the technical modalities of the survey. He reiterated that cost would not be a constraint, but quality and speed must be maintained at the highest standards. The meeting also marked the first formal interaction with Colonel Parikshit Mehra, a globally acclaimed tunnel engineering expert who recently joined the Irrigation Department on deputation. The Minister expressed confidence that Mehra's expertise would help resolve long-pending technical challenges and fast-track the completion of the SLBC and other key tunnel projects. He also announced that General Harpal Singh, former Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army, would soon be appointed as an Honorary Advisor to strengthen the department's technical capacity and execution capabilities. Meanwhile, Uttam Kumar Reddy instructed officials to prepare a scientific and practical plan for optimal utilisation of water during the ongoing Kharif season. He said the plan must account for current reservoir levels, expected monsoon inflows, and the total ayacut that can be effectively served. He stressed the need for a clear and coordinated water release strategy based on real-time data, crop patterns, and the geography of ayacut areas. 'Our primary objective is to ensure that no farmer suffers due to lack of water. The entire department must work proactively, with foresight and accountability,' he said. He directed officials to closely monitor dams, reservoirs, canals, and related infrastructure, and to take preventive measures to avoid breaches, flooding, or damage. He instructed the department to stay in regular contact with the Disaster Management Wing and ensure strong inter-agency coordination for flood control.
Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Plans afoot to resume SLBC tunnel works
Hyderabad: The Telangana government is all set to resume tunnelling operations in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC), where a cave-in had resulted in the death of eight workers in February this year. The government has roped in NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute) and Geological Survey of India (GSI) to complete the tunnel works. Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy conducted an in-depth review of the long-pending SLBC tunnel works and directed the officials to immediately resume remaining tunnel operations, including drilling and blasting. An estimated 10-km of tunnel work remains to be completed. Calling SLBC a crucial lifeline for Telangana, Uttam said its completion must be treated as a top priority and executed with urgency. The SLBC tunnel work is being taken up using the latest electromagnetic survey technology in collaboration with the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and the Geological Survey of India (GSI). To ensure precise planning and seamless execution, the minister directed the officials to expedite the aerial LIDAR survey. He met earlier in the day with NGRI scientists to finalise the technical modalities of the survey. He reiterated that cost would not be a constraint, but quality and speed must be maintained at the highest standards. The meeting also marked the first formal interaction with Colonel Parikshit Mehra, a globally acclaimed tunnel engineering expert who has recently joined the Irrigation Department on deputation. The minister expressed confidence that Mehra's expertise would help resolve long-pending technical challenges and fast-track the completion of SLBC and other key tunnel projects. He also announced that General Harpal Singh, former Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army, would soon be appointed as Honorary Advisor to strengthen the department's technical capacity and execution capabilities. The minister also reviewed water availability across all major reservoirs in Telangana and directed the Irrigation Secretary and Engineer-in-Chief to prepare a scientific and practical plan for optimal utilisation of water during the ongoing Kharif season. He said the plan must take into account current reservoir levels, expected monsoon inflows, and the total ayacut that can be served effectively. He noted that the Irrigation and Agriculture departments had worked in close coordination during the previous Kharif and Yasangi seasons, leading to a record production of 281 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of paddy.
United News of India
4 days ago
- Business
- United News of India
Telangana govt to appoint former Indian Army Engineer-in-Chief as Honorary advisor to strengthen Irrigation Dept. technical capacity
Hyderabad, July 19 (UNI) Telangana Irrigation Minister Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday directed officials concerned to immediately resume the remaining tunneling operations, including drilling and blasting. Uttam announced that General Harpal Singh, former Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army, would soon be appointed as an Honorary Advisor to strengthen the department's technical capacity and execution capabilities. The Minister, who conducted an in-depth review of the long-pending Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel works, said that an estimated 4.8 kilometres of tunnel work remains to be completed. Calling SLBC a crucial lifeline for Telangana, he said its completion must be treated as a top priority and executed with urgency. SLBC tunnel work is being taken up using the latest electromagnetic survey technology in collaboration with the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and the Geological Survey of India (GSI), he said. To ensure precise planning and seamless execution, the Minister directed officials to expedite the aerial LIDAR survey. The Minister met earlier in the day with NGRI scientists to finalise the technical modalities of the survey. He reiterated that cost would not be a constraint, but quality and speed must be maintained at the highest standards. The meeting also marked the first formal interaction with Colonel Parikshit Mehra, a globally acclaimed tunnel engineering expert who has recently joined the Irrigation Department on deputation. The Minister expressed confidence that Mehra's expertise would help resolve long-pending technical challenges and fast-track the completion of SLBC and other key tunnel projects. UNI KNR GNK
The Hindu
4 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Plans afoot to resume SLBC tunnel work soon as Irrigation Dept. ropes in experts from Army
HYDERABAD The Irrigation Department is planning to resume work at the earliest on the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel, which was halted on February 22 following collapse of the tunnel roof, about 14 km inside from the mouth, near Domalapenta, in Nagarkurnool district, burying 8 workers alive. Another 10 km tunnel is to be excavated to meet the work done from the other side. This was decided at a meeting held here on Saturday by Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy for an in-depth review of the pending work. The 43.931 km tunnel work was taken up from two sides – from Srisailam reservoir side near Domalapenta, and from Dindi balancing reservoir on the other side. The work was stopped in 2023 following a problem in the tunnel boring machine (TBM) from Dindi reservoir side. It was stopped in the Domalapenta side much earlier, again due to some problems in the TBM. It was resumed on February 22 after replacing some parts of the TBM in the Domalapent end, but within four days, the roof collapse incident took place. Only two of the 8 bodies were recovered before the rescue operation was abandoned in April-end, following the advice of the experts over the danger in taking up debris removal in the last 50 meters of the tunnel excavated from Domalapenta side. The Minister stated that drilling and blasting (excavation) was to be taken up in an estimated 10 km length for completing the tunnel. Terming SLBC lifeline for Southern parts of Telangana, he said its completion must be treated as a top priority and executed with urgency. He explained that the SLBC tunnel would be taken up/resumed using the latest electromagnetic survey technology in collaboration with the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and the Geological Survey of India (GSI). To ensure precise planning and seamless execution, he instructed the officials to expedite the (aerial) LiDAR survey. Earlier in the day, he had a meeting with a team of NGRI scientists to finalise the technical modalities of the survey. He reiterated that cost would not be a constraint, but highest quality and speed must be maintained at every level. The meeting also marked the first formal interaction with Col. Parikshit Mehra, an acclaimed tunnel engineering expert who recently joined the Irrigation Department on deputation. The Minister expressed confidence that Col. Mehra's expertise would help resolve long-pending technical challenges and fast-track completion of the SLBC and other key tunnel projects. He stated that Gen. Harpal Singh, former Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army, too would be appointed as an honorary Advisor in the Irrigation Department soon to strengthen the department's technical capacity and tunnel execution capabilities. The Minister also reviewed the progress of de-siltation and de-sedimentation works across the Krishna and Godavari basins, which he said were essential to enhance/restore the storage capacity and improve water management. He pointed out that water storage capacity of several irrigation projects had come down drastically due to sedimentation and silt accumulation.
