The Telangana Government has officially written to the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) to probe the damages caused to piers of Medigadda barrage, forming part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation scheme on river Godavari.
It has also been requested to conduct an inquiry into the structural stability of Annaram and Sundilla barrages upstream of Medigadda barrage to check for possible cracks, if any.
Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who along with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and other MLAs including the Congress, MIM and CPI, inspected Medigadda barrage on Tuesday, announced that a formal letter has been sent to the NDSA.
“The NDSA is the competent authority to look into the damages to the Medigadda barrage in wake of ‘shoddy works’ that led to near disaster with cracks appearing on the structure. The NDSA technical team has been asked to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the damages and suggest remedial measures,” he told a group of reporters in the Assembly on Wednesday.
“After a visit to the project, and the based on the report given by the Vigilance and Enforcement officials, we have come to a firm conclusion that a deeper probe is needed and the NDSA is the right body to conduct this,” he said adding that the officers were trying to avoid giving any replies to the government.
“There is no geological profile for the project and no formal procedure has been followed in the construction of these barrages. We can not endanger life and property by storing water. It has to be certified by somebody,” he said.
Ridiculing former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, the Irrigation Minister said the former donned the role of a chief planner, chief engineer and chief expert for these three barrages. He wondered why the authorities could not differentiate between a dam and barrage. “Dams are constructed to store water and barrages are built to regulate water,” he said.
Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy denounced the language used by KCR at a public meeting in Nalgonda on Tuesday against the Congress leaders. “Instead of making sweeping statements against the Chief Minister and others, Mr. KCR should come to the Assembly and make his stand clear on these damages,” he demanded.
The Irrigation Minister also took exception to the silence of the BRS chief from October 21 to December 7 on the damages to the barrage. He also faulted the escalation cost of Medigadda barrage from ₹1,800 crore to ₹4,500 crore.
He demanded that the former Chief Minister apologise to the people of Telangana for man-made disaster in the form of Kaleshwaram project. He said ideally speaking Tummidihetti project on Pranahita in Kautala Mandal of old Adilabad district would have been the best option to irrigate the parched areas.
Asked if probe would also be ordered into other projects like Mallannasagar, where seepage was witnessed, he said the Government could examine the need.
Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy was non-committal when asked whether a White Paper on Medigadda would be presented in the Assembly. But, sources pointed out that the government would place a status paper on Medigadda in the current session of the Legislature.
