The Polavaram irrigation project’s earth-cum-rock-fill work of the main dam requires to be halted for a few more months in the wake of the Godavari flood. By Thursday, the Godavari flood level was at 34.04 metres at the Polavaram project site. The inflow is 14.14 lakh cusecs and the same quantity is being discharged.
An official associated with the project construction told The Hindu on Thursday, “It appears that the work at the main dam site can be resumed by November. At present, the work cannot be carried out in the existing conditions.”
The lower cofferdam works have also been halted in the 400-metre area of the facility due to the consecutive floods without any suitable gap. The rest of the work covering 1.6 km length has already been completed.
“We are not prepared to take any risk at a time when the existing conditions are not suitable to proceed with any proposed work,” said an official of Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL).
Ferrule work not hit
Officials are, however, planning to speed up the installation of 624 Ferrules (a mechanism in the process of supplying water from source to turbine) inside the 12 tunnels on the site at the 960 MW Polavaram Hydro-electric project (PHEP) in Eluru district, as the ongoing work has not been affected by the Godavari flood.
Each tunnel will have 52 Ferrules and 8,520 tonnes of steel will be used to complete their installation.
