Repair of Barrage Will Be Costly and Time Consuming, Say Experts

HYDERABAD: Contrary to claims that the sinking of a section of the ‘Lakshmi’ barrage at Medigadda is something that can be dealt with without too much of trouble, it appears that the Telangana irrigation department, and L&T Construction  — which built the barrage and according to officials which will take up rectification work at its cost —  the task of refurbishing the hobbled barrage would be much tougher than being made out to be.

Even as getting to the bottom of the problem by digging down to the foundation of Block 7 of the barrage is expected to take much longer than the wishy-washy predictions that it could be done sometime next month, sources said that the affected piers of the sunken barrage block will have to be removed and rebuilt. But before any reconstruction and repair can be started, the radial gates on the affected block will need to be removed and “it will be like rebuilding it afresh,” according to the sources.

L&T, meanwhile, maintained a studied silence owing to the ‘sensitive’ nature of the issue, and on its role in the repair work other than the statement issued by the company earlier that it will take up the repairs. All efforts to reach the company to get some clarity on its role, the possible repair costs, were met with silence. The information about the Medigadda barrage and the construction work it did, as posted by the company on its website, however provides an indication on the magnitude of the task on its hands. Incidentally, it was learnt that the barrage was not insured either during the construction phase or later against any damages.

Experts in geological studies have raised questions if any hydrological modelling to figure out water flows during expected floods, or during normal times and the impact of such flows on the sand bed of the river were conducted. For instance when Sripada Yellampalli dam and reservoir was built, the Geological Survey of India, and NGRI conducted studies and to the best of available information at this point of time, no such work was done either for Medigadda, or the barrages at Annaram and Sundilla,” an expert on the subject said.