Hyderabad: With pressure mounting to restore the Kaleshwaram project’s troubled barrages and resume irrigation operations, a high-level technical oversight committee constituted by the Union ministry of jal shakti will hold its first review meeting with Telangana irrigation officials on July 31 to examine plans for the repair and rehabilitation of the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages.Headed by the technical member of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), the committee will review rehabilitation concept plans, designs and the findings of various investigations carried out so far on the three barrages.The NDSA is expected to scrutinise reports of the Central Water Commission, ground penetrating radar (GPR) studies and other technical assessments. The Central Water and Power Research Station is in the final stages of analysing the latest GPR data and related technical inputs.“In the meeting, we will present our designs and concepts and various geo-technical tests results that were received so far from various agencies. Based on the guidance, final rehabilitation designs will be ready by Aug-end. Some reports like hydraulic tests and some soil tests reports from laboratories are yet to be received. Impounding or lift of water from the barrages is not in the agenda of the meeting,” Colonel Parikshit Mehra, secretary, tunnels and safety, Telangana, told TOI.He said repairs to all three barrages are expected to be completed before the 2027 monsoon.Sources said the state govt is of the view that impounding water in the three barrages and resuming pumping operations at this stage could pose safety risks and has ruled out any immediate move in that direction.However, irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy recently said the state had written to the ministry of jal shakti and the NDSA seeking technical guidance on the future operation of the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages under the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme.The state govt has maintained that the barrages will remain in a free flow condition until safety concerns flagged by the NDSA are addressed. “Written advice by any competent technical authority will be mandatory to decide whether storage and pumping operations could be safely resumed,” he said.Officials said the rehabilitation concept design for the Medigadda barrage is expected to be finalised by the end of Aug, while a preliminary estimate of the rehabilitation cost is likely to be ready by mid-Sept.
