HYDERABAD: Stating that they were facing a lot of problems in taking up repairs at the Nagarjunasagar Project (NSP) due to the “attitude” of the Andhra Pradesh government, the irrigation officials of Telangana on Wednesday requested the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) chairman Anil Jain to declare who the owner of the project is. The NDSA chairman, who is on a three-day tour of the sibling state, held a meeting with Telangana Irrigation officials here on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the Telangana officials said that the temporary maintenance of NSP was being carried out by them while the temporary maintenance of Srisailam Dam was being done by their Andhra Pradesh counterparts.
However, in November 2023, the government of AP deployed a huge police force on the right side of NSP, they added. Meanwhile, the NDSA chairman enquired about the steps being taken by Telangana to implement the National Dam Safety Act.
Dam break analysis
Irrigation Engineer-in-Chief G Anil Kumar informed Anil Jain that they were preparing the dam break analysis. The NDSA chairman suggested the officials prepare pre-monsoon and post-monsoon reports for every project every year. There should be a special operation and maintenance (O&M) manual for every project, he said.
Responding to this, Anil Kumar wanted the NDSA chairman to decide the owner of the NSP. He said that they were facing problems in carrying out the repairs to Nagarjunasagar and the project was in danger.
The NDSA chairman asked the Telangana officials to visit the Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application website http://dharma.cwc.gov.in. As per the website, Telangana is the owner of NSP, he said.
Responding to Anil Kumar’s request that the Srisailam dam was in danger and immediate repairs should be taken up, Anil Jain assured him that the NDSA would immediately initiate the required measures.
KLIS meeting in Delhi
When Anil Kumar pointed out that the final report of the NDSA did not make any suggestions to restore or repair the damaged Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, the NDSA chairman said that these issues would be discussed in Delhi.
He asked the officials to meet him in the national capital so that the NDSA can invite experts and offer suitable suggestions.