Low-key response to Kaleshwaram barrage repair EOI: Deadline extended

Telangana extends the Kaleshwaram barrage repair EOI deadline to October 22 after limited responses. Officials hope the extra time will attract specialized agencies to restore Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages, critical for irrigating over 36 lakh acres.

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has extended the deadline for expressions of interest (EOI) to repair the barragess of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, after getting just a handful of agencies evincing interest so far. The new cutoff for proposals to repair the Medigadda Barrage and two others is now October 22, revised from October 15.

Officials hope that it will provide an opportunity to draw in more players, even as the overall situation points to poor enthusiasm. The call for rehabilitation designs was issued on October 1 from the Central Designs Organisation, asking established firms from India and abroad to submit full plans, blueprints, and cost breakdowns for the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages.

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These structures are central to the project’s goal of watering more than 36 lakh acres in Telangana. But they’ve been offline for four straight cropping seasons, leaving farmers high and dry. The National Dam Safety Authority report from April called the damage beyond fixing. Still, experienced engineers in the irrigation department argued that the structural issues identified can be addressed with expertise within the department.

They also felt that the restoration can be done without disrupting the lifting operations from the Kannepalli pumphouse as normal, even if it called for keeping all gates on the Medigadda barrage wide open. Facing heat from opposition parties and farmers who depend on the linked reservoirs, the government has promised to be ready with repair blueprints in the next year.

But so far, there is no word yet on how many proposals are in as of October 21. But department insiders say only two or three firms have shown real interest. Plenty of outfits have asked questions about the barrages’ woes over the past couple of years and even before but the whole mess of political drama is scaring them off, said sources.

“The bidding is out in the open, but people worry it’ll tilt toward old favourites of the Congress government and repeat the same old problems,” said one engineer close to the process, who didn’t want to be named. Sources say the extra time is meant to pull in specialists who deal adequately with the dynamics of heavy flood flows and quake-proofing.

However, the agencies to be shortlisted after Wednesday’s final EOI filing process would decide the fate of the project. Proposals will be opened the same day at Jalasoudha before they are put before a committee headed by the designs office for final consideration. The exercise will culminate in picking three to five outfits for the nitty-gritty work, with test models maybe ready by early 2026.

Time is short, and everyone’s watching the last-minute rush. A strong turnout could get water flowing sooner to parched areas. Otherwise, it is going to be a case of continued agony for the farmers.