Stalemate over NSP continues, maintenance works come to standstill

Andhra Pradesh had forcibly taken over control of 13 of the dam crest gates on its end and it was in no mood to relent

Hyderabad: The much needed regular maintenance works on the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam have come to a standstill with the stalemate continuing over operational control of the project. Andhra Pradesh had forcibly taken over control of 13 of the dam crest gates on its end and it was in no mood to relent.

The maintenance works taken up by Telangana on the joint project were halfway through in respect of certain components. The dam site, which has been handed over to the CRPF for protection and surveillance in the first week of December, is not accessible to the Operations and Maintenance wing of Telangana.

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“The operations and maintenance works grounded on the dam are in a standstill. The material collected for changing the track 125T/25T Gantry cranes are spread over the entire dam right from Gate no 1 to Gate No 26. Works on automation the gates were also help up because of the standoff,” officials said.

The only maintenance work undertaken up in the recent months was the replacement of rubber seals for the sluice gates of the hydel units on the AP side. Telangana had replaced nine gates on the AP side as it was tasked with the operational control of the entire project. It had spent over Rs.70 crore on dam maintenance.

AP officials had taken over even the flood control room located on the right side of the dam between gate no 14 to Gate No 26. AP had claimed that the location falls under its jurisdiction. Telangana officials were forced to leave the flood control room. The KRMB should have intervened taking the issue seriously, but it did not, officials said.

The State Dam Safety Organisation (SDSO) and the operations and maintenance wing had repeatedly been writing to the National Dam Safety organisation and the Krishna River Management Board on the issue. The O&M wing sought to know for itself who would take up the maintenance works.

Officials said they were yet to get complete clarity on the issue. It was not known whether the KRMB would task itself with the operations and maintenance as in the case of the Tungabhadra River Management Board. The KRMB has to overcome its constraints in respect of budget and manpower to shoulder such tasks, said officials.

In a letter addressed to the KRMB chairman, TS Engineer-in-Chief (General) C Muralidhar Rao sought restoration of status quo position as on pre-November 28 position immediately.

As directed by the Ministry of Home in the aftermath of the November 29 face off between the police forces of both Telangana and AP states, the KRMB was expected to help restore status quo on the dam site. All the issues pertaining to operations and maintenance of the dam should be resolved at a high level meeting to be held shortly with the Chief Secretaries of both States, officials said.