Congress MLA and government whip Adi Srinivas, along with the Rajanna Sircilla district Collector and several other officials, narrowly escaped injury on Tuesday when a basement section caved in during their inspection of under-construction houses in Vemulawada, Telangana.
Srinivas, the district Collector Garima Agarwal, and the inspection team were reviewing the progress of double-bedroom houses within the Vemulawada municipal limits when the ground beneath suddenly gave way. Supporters and officials standing close to the MLA managed to pull him back in time, preventing a fall. A video capturing the collapse has since circulated widely on social media.
The incident immediately sparked political blame. Opposition leaders from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) claimed the collapse exposed the alleged corruption within the Congress government.
Responding to the allegations, Adi Srinivas said the episode actually reflected the failures of the previous BRS administration. He said the houses in question were sanctioned during the BRS tenure and built by contractors appointed under their rule. He alleged that poor-quality materials were used and construction was hurried purely to extract commissions.
He added that the double-bedroom housing project in Narsapuram was initiated under BRS but left incomplete, with substandard work carried out on the portions that were built.
Srinivas said the Congress had long criticised corruption and inadequate construction quality during the BRS regime. "After coming to power, the Congress government decided to finish these houses and hand them over to beneficiaries. During our inspection, the basement collapsed — this proves everything we had pointed out earlier," he said.
The MLA further accused the BRS government of similar lapses in the Kaleshwaram project, including collapses of barrages.
He assured residents that the government would complete the houses as soon as possible and deliver them to eligible families.
