Overview
- Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy presided over the launch on Monday in Nagarkurnool district.
- The VTEM Plus operation flies a helicopter along roughly 200 km with a 24‑metre transmitter loop that sends electromagnetic signals captured by a receiver to profile the ground.
- Processed data will image formations to about 800–1,000 metres depth to identify shear or fault zones and underground water along the remaining alignment.
- The initiative follows the February 22 collapse that flooded about 2.5 km of Tunnel‑1, buried a 130‑metre TBM, and led to eight fatalities.
- A high-level panel and newly appointed advisers are evaluating excavation options, including a reported move to controlled blasting, as the state pursues completion by mid‑2028 within the existing budget.