HYDERABAD: The Irrigation officials found that as many as six piers of Medigadda barrage were damaged. The investigation in the incident is still going on. However, the officials on Friday found that all the six piers were damaged in the seventh block of the barrage. Piers from 16 to 21 were damaged, the officials said. The barrage has a total of eight blocks. However, the damage did not impact any the other piers in other blocks, as they used the ‘monolithic design’ for the barrage.
Dam Safety Panel officials AB Pandey and others will visit the barrage on Saturday for further investigation. The restoration works of the damaged piers would begin only after the investigation was completed, the officials said.
Irrigation special chief secretary Rajat Kumar held a review meeting with officials at Jala Soudha on Friday on the Medigadda barrage. “We had a complete review. The contracting agency L&T will take on the restoration works on their own after consulting with the Central Dam Safety Organisation of Telangana,” Rajat Kumar told TNIE after the meeting.
He said that the officials would initially construct a cofferdam and later take up the restoration works of the damaged piers. Unlike in the construction of dams, permeable foundation would be used in the construction of all barrages. Thus, sinking of piers do happen, the officials said and recalled that several barrages witnessed such problems in the past across the country, due to shifting or washing away of sand.
Restrain AP from expanding HNSS project: Muralidar
Meanwhile, the Telangana Irrigation engineer-in-chief C Muralidhar in a letter requested the Krishna River Management Board on Friday to restrain Andhra Pradesh from expanding Handree Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project with new lifts without any appraisal by the Central Water Commission or KRMB and approval of Apex Council, as per the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
Muralidhar requested the KRMB to bring all the violations of AP to the notice of Jal Shakti Ministry for taking necessary action. The AP government issued tender notice for “Conducting S&L (Surveying & Levelling) Operations for lifting of water from Bhairavanithippa Project to feed 58 nos. of MI tanks in Gummagatta, Rayadurgam, D Hirehal and Kanekal Mandals to stabilise an ayacut of 4,100 acres in Rayadurgam Assembly constituency in Ananthapuram”,Muralidhar informed KRMB.
Washing away of sand causes damage
Unlike in the construction of dams, permeable foundation would be used in the construction of all barrages. Thus, sinking of piers do happen, the officials said and recalled that several barrages witnessed such problems due to shifting or washing away of sand