Govt plans to replace Pulichintala crest gates with hydraulic ones
VIJAYAWADA: After one of the crest gates of Dr KL Rao Sagar Pulichintala Project got washed away on Thursday, the Water Resources Department has said it will examine if there is a possibility of replacing all the existing radial gates with hydraulic ones. While the blame game as to who is responsible for the incident has begun with the YSRC and the TDP charging each other, the expert committee announced by the State government to study the causes for the ‘accident’ is expected to submit its report in a week or two, according to Water Resources Minister P Anil Kumar.
“Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked us to explore if there is any possibility to replace all the existing radial gates with hydraulic setup. So based on the scope and necessity, we will see if hydraulic gates can be set up after the committee we constituted does a detailed study. The committee, which will look into the reasons for the accident, will also study all the components of the project and we will take up whatever work is necessary,” he told some TV channels on Friday.
For the record, Pulichintala project, which is about 115 km downstream of Nagarjuna Sagar and 85 km upstream of Prakasam Barrage, has a total of 24 radial gates. Gate number 16 got detached from the piers and washed away as the officials were in the process of lifting more gates for discharging the floodwater downstream. The Water Resources Department has become alert with the unexpected event at Pulichintala and is learnt to have decided to inspect all the major projects across the State as the flood season is ongoing.
Retired irrigation engineers too opined that the government should take steps to inspect all the major projects in the wake of the latest incident. “A gate getting swept away has never happened in the past at least in major projects. Even though Pulichintala is a balancing reservoir, it is indeed a big project in terms of ayacut it caters to. Taking this incident into account, it is crucial to check on all the projects,” a retired chief engineer explained.
Water Resources Minister Anil Kumar, in a counter to TDP leader Nara Lokesh, claimed that one of the gates of Annamayya (medium irrigation) project had also got washed away during the TDP regime in the united AP.Another engineer, who worked in both the erstwhile AP and the bifurcated State, recalled that the project, which was inaugurated in December, 2013, had done through several design changes before attaining its current shape.
The retired irrigation official noted that the number of gates was reduced to 24 from initially proposed 33 and that the length of the dam was reworked to 355 metres from 534 metres. “The project went through design changes initially. So, it needs to be seen if the incident of gate getting washed away was due to mechanical failure or civil construction works. Since a committee with experts, who in fact worked during the design phase of the project, has been constituted, we will get a clear picture once it submit its findings,” the retired official added.
Both the State officials and the retired engineers expressed confidence that the project would receive sufficient inflows this season. “Even though 34-35 TMC of water has been released during the start of Kharif for taking up the project repair works, there is no need to worry. AP generally receives flood in August and September. This year too the projects in the upper states are brimming. Hence, we will be able to refill the dam,” the officials and the retired engineers explained.
Expert panel report soon
The expert panel set up by the State government to study the causes that led to the collapse of crest gate of Pulichintala project, is expected to submit its report in a week or two