Hyderabad: Doubts Surface Over Kaleshwaram Designs

 Hyderabad: The Telangana Irrigation and Command Area Development department is planning to convene a meeting to address structural stability issues at the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages. The meeting will include department engineers, representatives from the three contractors responsible for constructing the barrages, and experts from IIT Roorkee and CWPRS Pune.

However, this move has sparked dissatisfaction within the department. Senior officials are questioning the Central Designs Organisation (CDO), which provided the original designs for the barrages, for admitting its inability to propose solutions or remedial designs. Some believe that instead of conceding its limitations, the CDO should have sought external expertise earlier and collaborated to improve its capabilities. This admission has raised doubts about the quality of the original designs.

A government source described the situation as a "complete mess," with uncertainty about how to proceed with the necessary repairs.

There is concern that relying solely on external experts may not resolve the underlying issues, as the foundations of the barrages are reportedly weak and poorly designed. “It is very likely that any work on repairs will fall short as the designs themselves have serious faults and storing of water at the barrages is simply out of the question at least in the near future. The foundations are weak, were poorly designed, and are unlikely to take any more stress at all the three barrages,” the source said.