Buttermilk, Cool Water, ORS Join Battle to Save Medigadda

“It is extremely hot. The air temperature is around 46º Celsius and the sand is practically burning. It is very difficult to work in this heat,” an engineer at the site said on Friday. “The actual temperature we feel on the ground is more,” he added.

With the sun blazing with eye-hurting brightness, and skin-searing heat, and with the sand on the river bed sizzling, battling the elements in the rush to meet the June 10 deadline to complete flood protection works, have added to the challenge for workers at the barrage.

To help the workers cope with the heat, and keep themselves hydrated, every two hours it’s time for a buttermilk break. If they want, there is more. Also on hand is a constant supply of cooled drinking water, and ORS liquids.

“We have an ambulance on the standby just in case someone needs attention, and a doctor at the workers camp,” the engineer said.

In all, some 150 people are working at Medigadda including 120 workmen who do most of the heavy lifting. The lunch break has been extendable, with the workers having the option of taking a break till 3 pm or so. At the camp, they can look forward to a cooler environment with several air-coolers installed in the camp quarters.

“The heat has emerged as the biggest challenge for us,” the engineer said, adding that as far as the rest of the scheduled works are concerned, they are making good progress. One of the two gates, Gate No 20 on the sunken Block 7 of the barrage, has been cut and the steel pieces are expected to be moved on Saturday.

Though the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) was of the view in its interim recommendations that Gate No 21 might also need to be cut down as it is stuck between the sunken piers of the block, engineers are hoping that they can actually lift it in one piece and have sought permission to give it a try.

On Friday, work also began on filling the around 1,000-cubic metre void under Block 7 with cement and sand under the supervision of senior experts. The grouting process has begun. On Monday, a team of seven experts from the Central Soil and Materials Research Station, Delhi is expected to arrive to study core samples from the structure’s foundations and study them.

A similar exercise will be taken up at the Annaram and Sundilla barrages, upstream of Medigadda, with experts from the the Central Water and Power Research Station in Pune also set to arrive at the two sites. Both these barrages too had sprung serious leaks from under their foundations and needed attention before the onset of the monsoon after which flows in Godavari are expected to increase.