Five workers died due to a mishap involving crane cables at a work site of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme in Telangana on Friday, July 29. According to the police, the workers were involved in concrete work in a 100-feet deep pit at the site late on Thursday when the crane wire pulling them up snapped. The incident occurred at a village in Kollapur mandal of Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district, where package 1 of the lift irrigation scheme is under construction. 

One worker survived the mishap, however, he was severely injured. The six were shifted to Osmania General Hospital where five of them were declared dead. Hindustan Times reported that the deceased men hailed from Andhra’s West Godavari district, Jharkhand and Bihar. The report quotes Kollapur inspector Yaladri as saying that the six men were engaged in concrete work in a 100-feet deep tunnel, and that the cable snapped while they were ascending. 

Police have reportedly registered a case of accidental death and further investigation is ongoing. 

The foundation for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme — one of the major projects undertaken by the Telangana government — was laid in 2015 by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. The project was designed and permissions were issued in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and intended to draw water from Jurala Project and lift and store the water in three reservoirs. The project will come up at a cost of about Rs 35,000 crore, however, it ran into roadblocks when local residents and activists put up stiff opposition to the project, as it allegedly encroached on forest land.