Hyderabad: Former MLA and BJP state vice-president NVSS Prabhakar has demanded a judicial inquiry into the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel project. While addressing the media on Friday, he alleged that the Congress party-led government is engaging with the contracting agency while increasing budget allocations for the project. He claimed that Congress has brought back the same contractors whose credentials were previously questioned. Prabhakar accused two cabinet ministers of working tirelessly to revive projects that had been in cold storage for eight years and handing them over to a contractor who was allegedly blacklisted earlier. He emphasised that this revival was done "despite several warnings from experts about the 'delicate' and 'perilous' terrain and environment at the project site," raising serious concerns about safety during project execution.

According to Prabhakar, expert opinions and safety concerns were overlooked, and the project was revived by the Congress government after it came to power. He further alleged that the proactive efforts of the two cabinet ministers in favor of the project for personal interests have jeopardized the lives of local residents.