Andhra Pradesh: Experts to Submit Interim Report on Polavaram Project soon

Vijayawada: The four -member team of international experts from the US and Canada would give their interim report in a week or two, with recommendations on how to take up works on damaged components of the Polavaram irrigation project from November.

The international experts along with expert agencies like the Polavaram project authority, the central water commission and other stakeholders, inspected the damaged components including the diaphragm wall, cofferdams both upstream and downstream, earth-cum-rock-fill dam Gap-1 and 2 etc in the last four days from June 30 to July 3 and shared their observations with the experts.

The experts and the agencies reportedly arrived at a decision to go ahead with the construction of a new D-wall replacing the damaged one. They also suggested managing the seepage from underneath the structures of cofferdams, to go ahead with the construction of D-wall, as it appeared to be not possible to completely stop the seepage from the soil of the river bed. They also examined the vibro compaction works done at ECRF Gap-1 and 2.

As the international experts winded up their four-day inspection, the authorities await the interim, would prepare the designs as per norms of the CWC and go ahead with the construction works.

Central water commission chairman K Vohra wrapped up the interaction between the international experts and the expert agencies by attending it virtually from New Delhi. He enquired about the inspection of the project by the experts and the observations of the expert agencies.

A senior official from the water resources said, “As the experts are going to give an interim report, we have to prepare designs in consultation with CWC and go ahead with the construction works from November so that the project works keep going on without any further delay.”