Revanth Reddy, Mallu Ravi Arrested On Way To Srisailam

NAGARKURNOOL: Tension prevailed here after the police stopped Congress leaders Revanth Reddy and Mallu Ravi from proceeding to Srisailam and placed them under preventive detention on Saturday. The two Congress leaders, accompanied by their followers were on their way to Srisailam to visit the Left Bank underground hydel power generation unit which was gutted in a massive fire on Friday. All nine persons trapped inside the power plant were killed in the mishap while a few survivors are being treated for burn injuries.

The entourage of the Congress leaders was stopped by the police at the Velturu Gate in Uppununthala mandal of the district. The police cited the ongoing CID inquiry into the fire accident as the reason for refusal of permission to them to visit the ill-fated Srisailam power plant. A heated argument ensued after the police refused permission to the Congress leaders to proceed to Srisailam, eventually leading to the latter's preventive arrest. Tension prevailed for sometime at the Velturu Gate when the heavily deployed police forcibly evicted the two leaders and their followers from the place.

While nine employees of the power station perished in the fire, eight others managed to escape to safety. Reacting to the incident, the Telangana government has announced Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of DE Srinivas Goud and Rs 25 lakh to the families of AEs and other staff who died in the incident. The government has also announced government jobs for a member of the families of the deceased.