HYDERABAD: The cement concrete (CC) blocks of Annaram barrage were initially “disturbed” in July, 2019 floods and even though the experts suggested corrective measures, the then BRS government did not take any steps to implement those, according to K Naga Mallikharjuna Rao, Hydro Business Unit head of Afcons Infrastructure Limited.
Deposing before the Commission of Inquiry on Kaleshwaram project on Saturday, Mallikharjuna Rao said that when the CC blocks were disturbed in 2019, the Irrigation department asked them to restore them. “Again in 2020, the same phenomenon continued and again CC blocks were destroyed,” he said.
The department again asked them to restore the CC blocks. Later, Afcons engaged experts and retired officials to find a solution to the problem. The Telangana State Engineering Research Laboratories (TSERL) then suggested an extended stilling basin as a protective measure. The same was confirmed by the experts from Pune. But, no step had been taken so far in this regard, he told the Commission.
Mallikharjuna Rao said that they also observed seepage in the barrage in 2020. He, however, said that in September, 2018, a majority of CC works, barring erecting of gates, were completed before the floods. In October, 2018, the river witnessed more than five lakh cusecs of flood. However, not a single block was disturbed at that time,” he said.
“The gate works were completed in January, 2019 and the gates were closed in July, 2019 to start the pumping of water. The water was stored up to the maximum level in the barrage and the shooting velocity was observed to be at 20 metres per second,” he said.
He said that the barrage site was changed 2.2 km from the original location as the government decided to reduce the forest land acquisition and also to increase the capacity of the reservoir.
Afcons General Manager, Execution (civil) Shekhar Das also deposed before the Commission on Saturday.