Minister Uttam Reddy rules out storage of water in Kaleshwaram barrages citing NDSA’s advice

Describing the demand of the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to switch on the pumps of Kannepalli pumphouse as ‘silly’, Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has said that storage of water in Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla is not possible in view of the recommendations made by the National Dam Safety Authority.

The switching on Kannepalli pumphouse will release water into Annaram barrage, that is not bereft of various deficiencies including suspicion on the strength of its foundation. “Gates of Annaram and Sundilla cannot be closed as these barrages are plagued with several structural defects,” he said. The government had resolved to take up holistic rehabilitation of the three barrages in line with the NDSA recommendations as they have been found to be unsafe for water storage and diversion.

The Minister launched a scathing attack on the BRS for the manner in which the Kaleshwaram project was executed claiming that agreements with contractors were signed in 2016 and the project secured technical advisory committee clearance, administrative sanction and approval of detailed project report two years later. “The BRS leaders have no moral right to speak about the project as the project, completed during their tenure, suffered damages in 2023 when they were still in power,” he pointed out.

The then government did not take into consideration the series of warning signals and went ahead to store water into the barrages that resulted in the sinking of piers. The NDSA pointed out to lack of geo-technical inspection, operation and maintenance issues, structural design which enhanced stress on the barrages among others. “The NDSA, the apex body on dam safety, summarised the extensive debilitating damages in the Kaleshwaram project. The negligence by the then government was so high that they did not even prepare an operation and maintenance manual for the project of this magnitude,” he said.

Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy who was accompanied by senior Irrigation officials and experts recalled the judicial commission’s report which held the then BRS government directly responsible for the status of the barrages. “The judicial commission has directly indicted the then Chief Minister, Irrigation Minister and Finance Minister for rampant and brazen procedural and financial irregularities. The commission has also revealed failure of governance and undue interference of political leadership in the execution of the project,” he said.

The government had requested the Central Bureau of Investigation to inquire into the lapses and the matter was still pending before the CBI, he said in reply to queries. The previous government had taken a wrong decision in shifting the project base from Tummidihatti to Medigadda without proper studies resulting in the sinking of piers of Medigadda barrage. “It is well established now that block seven of Medigadda barrage was not a one-off event and similar problems persist with two other barrages,” he said.

The government had therefore followed the recommendations of the NDSA and was assessing various parameters dealing with the health of the project so that the lapses could be rectified and it could be rehabilitated. Steps had been initiated to deploy latest technologies in the process to fill the technological void that was persisting.

The government was assessing the adequacy of design and other aspects of the project which in its present stage was a reflection of incompetence and inefficiency of the BRS government resulting in hardships to north Telangana in the background of the El Nino impact. “These hardships would not have occurred had the project planning, design and other aspects been right,” he said adding reputed consultancies had been handed over work to design a project so that water could be pumped from Tummidihatti.