Medigadda barrage safe and intact, says Chief Engineer

Clarification comes in the backdrop of rumours that piers had once again sunk in the barrage

Hyderabad: The Medigadda barrage on the Godavari river is intact and safe, with no new issues spotted, Chief Engineer (CE) of the project Sudhakar Reddy said on Thursday.

This clarification comes in the backdrop of rumours that piers had once again sunk in the barrage.

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The barrage, which is the key component of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), has been receiving inflows in the order of some 14,000 cusecs from the Godavari and its tributary Pranahahita.

As it may add up to its storage by about 1 tmc a day, every drop received was being let off.

With a view to avoiding impounding of water in the barrage, a part of the cofferdam, which was put up from the river bank to the seventh block, was also being cleared.

As recommended by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), all gates were kept fully open.

The cofferdam was not removed so far in view of the works in progress. It facilitated the movement of men and material to the work site.

But of late, it was found to be blocking the outflow from blocks 6 and 7. As a result, the cofferdam was being cleared engaging machinery in a big way. The work was in progress till late Wednesday evening.

Denying to have experienced fresh problems in the seventh block of the barrage yet again, the Chief Engineer made it clear that all its structures were intact.

 

Optical targets installed
A team of officials inspected the barrage and all its 85 gates on Thursday morning. The project had optical targets (instruments meant to observe disturbances, if any, with the structures) installed at all points.

They can give alerts in the event of disturbances even by 1 mm instantly.

The readings of the optical targets are taken manually every 12 hours. A major part of the interim works taken up on the barrage, as recommended by the NDSA, was also completed.