The Telangana government led by Congress on Friday, December 29, inspected the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project’s Medigadda barrage, a few of whose piers had sunk in October, and alleged that their suspicions about the project have proved to be correct.
Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, who led the team of five ministers, said that though the previous BRS government claimed that it is the world's largest irrigation project, Medigadda barrage suffered damage and the then government did nothing to restore it.
He also said that after obtaining results from investigations and consulting the expert committee, the restoration of Medigadda barrage will be taken up. He also pulled up the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led state government for issues at the Annaram barrage and claimed that cracks and sand erosion was also noticed at the third barrage, Sundilla.
The barrages located in Jayashankar Bhupalpally and Pedapalli districts of Telangana form a major part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.
Telangana Irrigation Department's Engineer-in-Chief C Muralidhar said that one pier in the seventh block of Medigadda sank by 1.256 meters and remarked that the damage was still being assessed.
Currently, the coffer dam is being constructed and after completion of the work, the state government will decide whether the damaged part of the barrage will have to be repaired or need reconstruction.
“After formation of Telangana state, the BRS government changed the project design at Medigadda and so far, Rs 95,000 crore have been spent but only a lakh acre land was irrigated. Public money has been spent with utter negligence and the works were undertaken with poor quality,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy.