Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district court issues notice to KCR, others in Medigadda barrage damage case

Telangana: A court in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district has issued notice to former Chief Minister and BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and others in connection with a criminal revision petition filed by an activist over the issue of damage to the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram project.

The court of principal district and sessions judge issued the notices to KCR, and former Minister T Harish Rao, and others.

A petition was filed by Nagevelli Raja Lingamurthy on September 7, 2023, against them, including officials Rajat Kumar and Smita Sabharwal, alleging that they were responsible for the sinking of a portion of the Medigadda barrage constructed under Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS) and for misusing crores of public money.

The petitioner informed the court that soon after the sinking of the barrage, he had lodged written complaints with the DGP, Bhupalpally SP, and the station house officer. "However, the officials did not focus on the political pressure by BRS leaders," he stated.

According to the petitioner, the BRS during its tenure did not submit the technical and mechanical details of the project to the dam safety authority. They did not even take up soil testing before starting construction work.

"When the construction works were underway, instead of handing over the responsibility of supervision and maintenance of the project to the concerned engineers, KCR and Harish Rao handed over the responsibilities to Genco engineers," the petitioner stated.

The next date of the case hearing is September 5, 2024.

In October 2023, a pillar of Lakshmi Barrage, also known as the Medigadda Barrage, part of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Schema, sank due to a reported heavy inflow. Engineering staff reported that pillar number 19 of the 1.6km barrage suffered damage causing a portion of the bridge to sag. Apart from pillar 19, pillars 20 and 21 also developed cracks.

The damage to the Medigadda barrage during the previous BRS regime was a major issue in last year's Legislative Assembly polls.