Hyderabad: As rescue teams work under a unified command to clear obsta-cles and address the critical situation at the SLBC tunnel, where eight people remain trapped, political tensions have escalated. The opposition party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), staged pro-tests on Thursday, accusing the state government of inaction.

BRS legislator T Harish Rao, along with party leaders, demanded permission to visit the accident site. When the police initially de-nied their request, the leaders staged a sit-in protest on the road. Eventually, authorities allowed six leaders to approach the tun-nel.

Addressing the media, Harish Rao alleged that the state gov-ernment had done nothing over the past six days to rescue the trapped individuals. Countering these claims, Minister for Irrigation N Uttam Kumar Reddy dismissed the allegations, asserting that the opposition had no moral right to question the government’s commitment.

“Every day, they make baseless accusations and engage in polit-ical theatrics. When they were in power, they never allowed Con-gress leaders to visit irrigation projects; instead, they arrested them and filed cases against them. Neither the former irrigation minister nor then Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao visited accident sites. In contrast, our government is working transpar-ently and has permitted opposition leaders to visit the tunnel,” he stated.

The minister explained that access to the tunnel was restricted due to ongoing rescue operations. He accused the previous BRS government of neglecting the SLBC project for a decade, aban-doning crucial work that could have provided 30 TMC of water to Telangana, benefiting three to four lakh acres of agricultural land in Nalgonda. Uttam Kumar Reddy also criticised Harish Rao’s remarks, stating that professionals with significantly more expertise were handling the situation. “Does he believe he knows more than top tunnel engineers? Is he attempting to insult the Indian Army, Navy commandos, BRO teams, and other experts who are risking their lives in this rescue mission?” he questioned. He dismissed the BRS visit as mere political posturing.

Despite numerous challenges, rescue teams continue working tirelessly. “I assure you that within two days, the rescue and relief operations will be completed. In two to three months, we will re-sume and complete the SLBC project in record time,” Uttam Ku-mar Reddy added. He further emphasised that national and international agencies, along with tunnel experts, were collaborating in a coordinated ef-fort. The boring tunnel machine (TBM) stuck inside will be dis-mantled using gas cutters and removed.