Uttam asks officials to approach MoJS and NDSA on operation of KLIP barrages
HYDERABAD Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy instructed authorities of the Irrigation department to immediately write to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS)
HYDERABAD Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy instructed authorities of the Irrigation department to immediately write to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) and the Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) seeking clear technical guidance on the future operation of the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP). At a high-level review meeting with officials, the Minister said written advice by any competent technical authority would be mandatory to decide whether storage and pumping operations could be safely resumed. “The correspondence with the MoJS should clearly explain why the barrages have not been used for storage or pumping and seek a formal opinion from the competent technical authorities,” he suggested.
The Minister also directed that copies of the communication be provided to the Resident Commissioner for immediate hand delivery to senior officials in the MoJS. During the review, officials noted that the recent statements issued by the Union Minister for Jal Shakti and the correspondence from the Ministry had largely referred to the general policy that State governments take operational decisions regarding barrages, but did not specifically address the recommendations contained in the NDSA report. He said the State government had followed every technical recommendation by the NDSA and the MoJS while conducting the investigations on the barrages to rehabilitate them in a full-fledged manner.
Stating that some issues had also surfaced in the Annaram Barrage raft foundation, the Minister reviewed the ongoing rehabilitation study and was informed that the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) was in the final stages of analysing the latest GPR data and other technical inputs. “Water cannot be impounded at the present stage in Annaram Barrage also as certain issues indicating cavities have surfaced in the raft foundation,” officials informed the Minister. Based on the available investigations, a rehabilitation concept design for the Medigadda Barrage would be prepared by the end of August. A preliminary estimate of the rehabilitation cost would also be ready by mid-September, they stated.
Additional technical inputs relating to Annaram and Sundilla would be available over the next two weeks. The review also examined proposals regarding possible pumping operations during the current monsoon. Officials explained that merely having water flowing downstream did not automatically make pumping technically feasible. Temporary interventions and pumping without satisfying the required hydraulic conditions could prove ineffective and might even aggravate existing structural concerns beneath the barrages. The Minister reiterated that no operational decision would be taken based on political pressure but only on sound engineering evidence.
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