Hyderabad, April 12 (RAHNUMA): Minister for irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy made it clear that the Telangana government is determined to bring all three critical barrages of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project — Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla back into operation at the earliest.
The Minister wanted the rehabilitation works to be fast-tracked to restore the project to full operational status under a time bound programme.
He had a high- level review on rehabilitation of KLIS barrages with key officials of the department, representatives of the CWPRS, agencies tasked with rehabilitation designs and implementation agencies including L&T) at his Secretariat chambers on Sunday.
The Minister said that statutory agencies, including the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) and the Vigilance Commission have already flagged serious defects in the foundations, design, planning and execution of all three barrages. He said the fundamental problems are identical across the three structures.
The Minister directed officials that the next two working seasons (2027 and 2028) should be treated crucial in the process of completing the KLIS repairs.He expressed hope that Annaram and Sundilla could be fully completed well within the timeline set for the purpose, while Medigadda can be made at least partially operational simultaneously .
The government has already finalised a design consultant- AFRY India to work in a joint venture with IIT Mumbai. The Minister instructed the design team to work round-the-clock, all seven days in a week.
“We need the design as early as possible. The designs will have to be sent to the Central Water Commission (CWC) for approval immediately after submission,” he said.
The Minister asked the consultants to stay in constant touch with Secretary Parikshit Mehra and bring directly to his notice in case of any issues.
The design process will be backed by comprehensive geophysical, geotechnical, soil, hydraulic modelling and other studies. The Minister directed that all required tests and data must be completed on top priority.
