Telangana CM orders plans to repair damaged barrages of Kaleshwaram project

Hyderabad, Oct 28 Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday directed the Irrigation Department officials to come out with constructive plans for the repairs of Medigadda, Sundilla and Annaram barrages, which are part of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project built by the previous BRS government

He also directed officials to ensure that the contract agencies are held responsible for the damage to the three barrages.

He asked Irrigation officials to prepare plans to bring 80 tmcft of water from Tummidihatti to Sundilla and also finalise estimations for the repairs of the Sundilla barrage.

The barrage is being repaired to bring water to the Sripada Yellampalli project.

At a high-level review of the irrigation projects, the Chief Minister enquired the officials about the status of the damage to the Sundilla barrage.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), top authorities were also ordered to prepare plans to supply irrigation and drinking water to the erstwhile Adilabad district. The Chief Minister stressed that the estimations should be prepared by taking into consideration the old works.

Reviewing the contents in the letter sent by Union Minister for Jal Shakti C.R. Patil to the state government recently, CM Revanth Reddy made several suggestions, including the preparation of the status of the project-wise analysis reports.

The CM said that he will hold another review meeting in November second week on the next steps being taken based on the project-wise complete reports.

The Union Minister, in his letter, highlighted that progress on the Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation (CDSE) in Telangana remained negligible.

Under the Dam Safety Act, 2021, all specified dams must undergo a CDSE by December 2026, yet TG (Telangana) has made little progress despite operating 173 specified dams.

Medigadda, Sundilla and Annaram barrages are part of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project built by the previous BRS government.

After Congress came to power, it ordered a probe into alleged irregularities in the project. After the P. C. Ghose Commission submitted its report, the state government decided to hand over the case to the CBI.

The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) had also probed the damage to the three barrages and confirmed the structural collapse due to defects in their design, construction and management.

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