Panel to submit report on new Annamayya dam

Project executive engineer N Ravikiran said hydrology of the district underwent change as evident from heavy floods in Cheyyar river in 2001, 2020 and 2021.
Annamayya project in Kadapa which was damaged in rains (Photo | Express)
Annamayya project in Kadapa which was damaged in rains (Photo | Express)

KADAPA: Five months after the Annamayya project disaster, officials of the water resources department are working on the final report on the reconstruction of the project, with a focus on hydraulics and foundation. A high-power technical committee visited the project site and took stock of the situation. The disaster claimed 38 lives.

The project, located on the outskirts of Badanagadda village, 25 kms from Rajampet town in Annamaiah district, was constructed in 2001 and suffered heavy damage after earthen bund was washed away in the flash floods in November last.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who visited the flood-affected villages in December last, promised a speedy reconstruction of Annamaiah and Pincha projects, which suffered damage due to flash floods. The water resources department prepared three proposals for reconstruction of the Annamayya project. First is to reconstruct a concrete dam with 2.24 TMC capacity at the place where the earthen bund situated, at an estimated cost of Rs 468.09 crore. It was also proposed to add another 5 gates to increase the discharge capacity to 4.34 lakh cusecs.

The second proposal is to construct earthen bund as it was before, with an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore. The third proposal is to construct a new cement concrete dam, 1.5 km downstream the present location with a total capacity of 8.5 TMC with an estimated cost of Rs 1,580 crore. For the implementation of the third proposal, 967 acres of land need to be acquired and clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is a must.

Project executive engineer N Ravikiran said hydrology of the district underwent change as evident from heavy floods in Cheyyar river in 2001, 2020 and 2021. “The focus is on studying the stability of the foundation of the existing structure and hydrology and based on the results, they will prepare the final report. If both aspects are not suitable, an alternate site will be recommended.”

Three proposals

Construct a concrete dam with 2.24 TMC capacity at the place where earthen bund situated; Estimated cost: Rs 468.09 crore
Construct an earthen bund as it was before; Estimated cost: Rs 80 crore
Construct a new cement concrete dam, 1.5 km downstream; Estimated cost: Rs 1,580 crore

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