Major renovations planned for 174-year-old Dowleswaram barrage
Renovation of the 174-year-old Dowleswaram Barrage, in East Godavari district, named after British General Sir Arthur Cotton, is scheduled to begin next week, with the
Renovation of the 174-year-old Dowleswaram Barrage, in East Godavari district, named after British General Sir Arthur Cotton, is scheduled to begin next week, with the replacement of 117 gates as part of efforts to protect the world heritage irrigation structure. The barrage irrigates nearly 10 lakh acres and guarantees drinking water to the entire Godavari delta in Andhra Pradesh. Water Resources Minister Nimmala Rama Naidu on Tuesday announced that Chief Minister N.
Chandrababu Naidu would perform the ‘’bhumi puja’ next week for the replacement of the 117 gates of the barrage. The project is estimated to cost ₹150 crore. The Minister said that in 2015, Mr. Naidu had been credited for replacing 58 gates of the barrage at a cost of ₹32 crore. In 2022, the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) recognised the Sir Arthur Cotton barrage across the river Godavari as a ‘World Heritage Irrigation Structure’.
Speaking to reporters after inspecting the barrage, Mr. Rama Naidu claimed; “The recommendations of the irrigation experts on the structural stability, gates in particular, of the Dowleswaram barrage was ignored by the previous government. We cannot afford to delay renovation of the barrage.”. Rama Naidu said that the modernisation of the Godavari Delta’s irrigation canals has been included in the State irrigation calendar and that ₹14 crore would be sanctioned for the delta modernisation works across the Godavari delta.
Dowleswaram Irrigation Circle Superintendent Engineer G. Srinivas along with other irrigation engineers were present during the inspection.
The BriefWire