VIJAYAWADA: Efforts to retrieve sunken boats near the 67th gate of Prakasam Barrage entered their seventh day on Monday, with the Irrigation Department and private salvage teams introducing a new recovery plan. Previous attempts, including four failed retrieval methods, led to a Sunday meeting between the irrigation officials and private teams Bekem Infra Projects Limited and Abbulu’s crew.
The teams have now opted for the ‘Balance method,’ which aims to lift the sunken boats by balancing their weight using other vessels. This approach involves filling two or three sand mining boats with water to increase their weight. These new boats will then be connected to the sunken vessels. By adjusting the weight and pulling with ropes, the half-sunk boats are expected to float and be safely removed.
The sunken boats had drifted downstream and crashed into the barrage on the night of September 1, following the failure of the counterweight at Gate No. 69. Of the four boats involved, three are metal.
Officials remain optimistic that this new method will succeed within a few days. “The operation relies on counterbalancing the weight on water, which simplifies the lifting process. We have deployed two boats and successfully tested the procedure,” said an official from the irrigation department.