HYDERABAD: Expressing concern over the deterioration of the dam and risks to its safety, the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) has directed the Andhra Pradesh government to undertake immediate repairs on the plunge pool area of the Srisailam dam and complete them by May 31. The NDSA also designated Andhra Pradesh as the owner of the Srisailam dam.
NDSA chairman Atul Jain convened a video conference on Thursday with officials from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), following a letter from Telangana engineer-in-chief G Anil Kumar raising concerns over the dam’s structural integrity.
The NDSA directed AP to take up repair and fixed timelines for the same. It also pulled up AP officials for not implementing the recommendations of the NDSA for one year.
Telangana officials told the meeting that the forecast was the coming summer would be abnormal. Abnormally heavy rains are also forecast for the year, which may pose a grave threat to the dam. However, the question of who has to take up the repairs to Srisailam dam arose in the meeting. As per the National Dam Safety Act, there should be an owner for each dam. AP has been demanding that the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP) should be handed over to the KRMB. A case to this effect is pending in the Supreme Court.
The NDSA agreed to Telangana’s suggestion and declared that those who were currently operating the project should be treated as the owner.
Accordingly, Telangana will be the owner of NSP while AP will be the owner of Srisailam. The NDSA conducted a study in February 2024 on the safety of Srisailam dam.
The Telangana officials mentioned the report and wanted immediate repairs to the dam. The NDSA, agreeing with the Telangana officials, directed AP to take up temporary repairs before the onset of the monsoon.
The height of the Srisailam dam is 143 m, and there should not be any wells within a radius of 1.43 km. As the plunge pool falls within this radius, the Telangana officials suggested that the steps taken to prevent erosion along the Mumbai coastline should be applied here.
Any well or gap within the 1.43 km radius poses the danger of the Srisailam dam sliding and collapsing, according to Telangana officials.
Vivek Tripathi, NDSA member and leader of the Panel of Experts (PoE) that conducted the study on Srisailam, was also present in the meeting.