Irrigation department Special Chief Secretary Rajat Kumar has asserted that the Kaddam project in Nirmal district did not suffer any damage due to the recent heavy rains as the operations and maintenance wing of the department carried out repairs to the project recently.
The project remained intact in spite of 300 mm rainfall in the four upstream mandals of Adilabad district. Mr. Rajat Kumar reviewed the impact of heavy rains on SRSP, Kaddam and Kaleshwaram projects and the safety measures put in place.
He said the unexpected changes in atmosphere were leading to situations like cloud burst, but the government was geared up to meet any eventuality. Construction of irrigation projects would be taken up after the Central Water Commission’s clearances, but the India Meteorological Department as well as European satellite agencies were unable to give advance intimation about the severity of rainfall.
He refuted the reports relating to flood loss appearing in the media and said there was no truth in the reports. On the Polavaram project, he said the project would lead to submergence of close to one lakh acres due to the effect of backwaters and this could also lead to submergence of historic places like Bhadrachalam and Parnashala. Though the State had requested the Centre to conduct studies on backwater-related issues and submergence of areas in Telangana several times, there was no response so far.
Referring to the Kaleshwaram project, he said the project suffered damage to the tune of ₹20 crore to ₹25 crore. The losses would be borne by the construction and maintenance agencies as per the agreements and the Government was not responsible for them. Repairs and restoration of pumphouses of Kaleshwaram project were likely to be completed in 45 days, he added.
