The six-member expert team of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) that examined the sinking of piers in the Block-7 of Medigdda (Laxmi) Barrage of the Kaleshwaram Project has faulted the planning and design of the project in its report and stated that a combination of issues involving planning, design, quality control and operation and maintenance have led to the damage.
After the drift of some piers was noticed on the October 21 evening, the NDSA committee visited the barrage site on October 23 and 24 and held a meeting with the authorities of the Irrigation Department on October 24. The 43-page report has made made castigating remarks on the project. It has mentioned that information on only 11 of the 20 aspects (data/inputs) were submitted by the State Government.
“The primary reason for the failure is the settlement of the barrage raft. The piers, being monolith with it, have also settled, moved and cracked. This could occur due to several possible reasons such as piping, wherein transportation of foundation material has occurred. Inadequate bearing capacity of the foundation material (sand), failure of upstream secant piles due to barrage load also led to the failure”, the report explained.
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