NALGONDA: Stating that the contractor would bear the cost of building a new retaining wall, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday described the sidewall collapse as a “minor incident that would delay the completion of the Sunkishala project by two months”.
Accompanied by Legislative Council chairman Gutha Sukhender Reddy and Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao, the Irrigation minister on Friday visited the Sunkishala project site where the sidewall collapsed on August 1.
The Sunkishala project, initiated in 2021, aims to ensure uninterrupted supply of drinking water to Hyderabad, especially during inadequate rainfall and when the Nagarjunasagar project reaches dead storage levels. Despite other channels supplying water to Hyderabad, Sunkishala was constructed to tap into the dead storage levels of Nagarjunasagar. “The project is under construction and will be handed over to the government upon completion. Had SLBC been completed by now by the previous administration, it would have met Hyderabad’s drinking water needs and also provided enough water for irrigation in erstwhile Nalgonda district,” he said.
He said that projects in south Telangana were not accorded the same priority by the previous BRS government as those in north Telangana, such as the Kaleshwaram project. Uttam said that the Congress government was committed to completing the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) and Dindi projects.
Sukhender Reddy said that the SLBC was previously undertaken to provide both drinking and irrigation water to the erstwhile Nalgonda district. “However, delays forced sourcing of water from alternative means. Between 2014 and 2022, work on the Sunkishala project was limited, with Rs 875 crore spent up to December 2022.
The retaining wall collapse is attributed to heavy flood pressure,” the Council chairman said.
Nageswara Rao said that Nalgonda district has long struggled with drought and fluoride contamination. He said that the Sunkishala project was the highest tunnel project in Asia. “Currently, Hyderabad receives drinking water through the Akkampally Balancing Reservoir. The Sunkishala project was proposed to supply water when Nagarjunasagar reached dead storage levels,” the minister said.
He said that the contracting agency did not anticipate the flood surge, which led to the collapse of the sidewall. “The government became aware of the incident through media reports and has since ordered a committee to submit a comprehensive report before deciding on further steps. Plans are underway to ensure drinking water provision through this project despite the setback,” the Agriculture minister said.