Medigadda barrage piers sinking: Six member NDSA committee to probe matter

Hyderabad: National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) has constituted a six-member committee to examine the reasons for the sinking of the piers of the 'Medigadda (Laxmi) barrage' of the Kaleswaram project in Telangana.

"The pillars numbering 15 to 20 of the sixth to eighth blocks of the Medigadda (Laxmi) barrage of the Kaleswaram project had reportedly sunken on the night of October 21, 2023. Accordingly, in keeping with the provisions of the Dam Safety Act 2021, a committee was constituted with the following members to examine the reasons for the sinking of the piers of Medigadda (Lakshmi) Barrage," the Director of NDSA Secretariat said in an office order on October 22.

The team shall interact with all the stakeholders including officers of the state government and the agency involved in the construction of the barrage. After a thorough examination of the matter, it will submit a detailed report duly indicating reasons for the incident, the order said.

The team shall start its visit on Monday and submit a report on its return, it said.

The constitution of the committee follows a letter by Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy to Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on October 22 requesting that a team of experts from the Dam Safety Authority set up by the Centre under the 'Dam Safety Act' be deputed to perform a thorough field investigation into the matter.

Kishan Reddy, who is also the BJP's Telangana unit president, said in his letter to Shekhawat that "a few pillars of the Medigadda (Laxmi) barrage in the Kaleswaram project has sunken down" on the night of October 21.

"It is reported that the pillars numbered between 15 and 20 in the 6th block have sunken down. It is also reported that loud sounds were heard from the underlying gates of the barrage," Reddy said.

He pointed to reports that all the 85 gates of the barrage are being opened and stored water to the tune of 10 TMC is being released downstream into the sea.

All the saved water, which would have been used for both drinking and irrigation purposes, has been wasted, he claimed.

Reddy referred to the alleged submergence of the Annaram and Kannepally pump houses of the Kaleswaram project due to the floods last year.

Such alleged project failures and other relevant issues need to be thoroughly investigated in the interest of public safety, Reddy said in the letter.

L&T, which built the 1.632-km-long Lakshmi Barrage (Medigadda) with 86 Piers in 2019, in a statement said its technical expert team has been deputed to the project site to assess the abrupt cause of the damage with the state authorities.

"L&T will take necessary action to rectify the damage following a technical assessment," the infra major said, adding that a solution would be found at the earliest.

Meanwhile, in the run-up to legislative assembly polls, the BJP, Congress, and other opposition parties attacked the BRS government over the issue.

BJP MLA Eatala Rajender demanded that the state government issue a white paper on the incident.

He said Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao should answer the people on how water would be supplied to them given the "sinking of the piers, preceded by pump houses being submerged" earlier.

State Congress president and MP A Revanth Reddy alleged that the sinking of the piers pointed to defects in the quality of construction.

Referring to BJP leaders making allegations of corruption against the Kaleswaram project in the past, Revanth Reddy asked why the Centre has not ordered an inquiry into the matter.