RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM : The historic Dowleswaram Barrage, an engineering marvel constructed by Sir Arthur Cotton in 1852 across the Godavari river in East Godavari district, is poised for a major facelift. The State government has sanctioned `150 crore for the repair and restoration of the 175-year-old structure, which transformed agriculture in the Godavari region by irrigating over 10 lakh acres.
The barrage, a lifeline for the Eastern, Central, and Western Godavari deltas, has faced neglect over the years. Of its 175 gates across Dowleswaram, Ralli, Madduru, and Vijjeswaram arms, 116 have rusted, and become dysfunctional, causing significant water loss and challenges during Godavari floods.
Superintending Engineer Gopinath highlighted that many bottom plates have developed large holes, wasting lakhs of cusecs of water annually.
The restoration project will replace these damaged gates, including 12 new head sluice gates—three of the Eastern Delta, four of the Central Delta, and five of the Western Delta. All eight scour sluices, used to flush out post-flood silt and mud, will be replaced.
Administrative approval was granted in July 2025, and funds have now been released. Previously included under the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Programme (DRIP) with a 70:30 Centre-State funding ratio, the project suffered delays due to mismanagement by the previous government, which failed to secure Central funds.
Now, the Chandrababu Naidu government has prioritised the barrage renovation.