First Blast Successfully Achieves 3.5-Metre Pull in SLBC
The government subsequently abandoned the use of tunnel boring machines and opted for the blasting method to complete work on the 43.93-km-long tunnel.
Nalgonda: In a major achievement, engineers successfully conducted the first controlled blasting at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel, managing to clear mud to a distance of 3.5 metres on Tuesday evening. The blasting was carried out at a distance of 20.435 kilometres from the outlet point at GV Gudem near Devarakonda in Nalgonda district.
Operations to dig the tunnel had commenced recently. The work had been halted nearly a year ago, on February 22, 2025, when a section of the tunnel collapsed 14 kilometres from the inlet, fatally trapping eight workers.
The government subsequently abandoned the use of tunnel boring machines and opted for the blasting method to complete work on the 43.93-km-long tunnel. Earlier, a helicopter-borne ‘VTEM Plus Magnetic Geophysical Survey’ was conducted on November 3, 2025, to look for the presence of shear zones or water bodies above the spot where the tunnel was being dug.
