SLBC Tunnel to be completed by 2028: Telangana minister

Hyderabad: Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday, July 6, said that the SLBC Tunnel in Nagarkurnool will be completed in 2028.

Convening a high-level review meeting on the Alimineti Madhava Reddy Srisailam Left Bank Canal (AMR-SLBC) Project, the minister said the government would clear hurdles, resolve land acquisition challenges, strengthen technical supervision and ensure that the SLBC tunnel and canal network are completed together.

Officials informed the minister that since the resumption of work on the SLBC tunnel with advanced technologies and observation techniques, nearly half a kilometre of progress has already been achieved, while work from the Devarkonda side has been steady.

They also said that precautions were being taken to ensure the safety of the teams working on the Srisailam side as well. Three arm boomers have already reached the Mumbai port and will reach the project site by the end of this month, which will further accelerate the progress.

The revised administrative approval for the project is about Rs 12,718 crore. Reddy said the Main Tunnel-1, Main Tunnel-2, Dindi component, balancing reservoirs, and canal network should be treated as one integrated project.

Tunnel light and ventilation

After the briefing, the minister asked officials to ensure adequate lighting and ventilation in the SLBC tunnel. Reddy stressed that geologists and engineers should be deployed at the tunnel for constant monitoring.