HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy will visit the Medigadda barrage next week to inspect the ongoing protection works.
Uttam Kumar Reddy chaired a review meeting with senior irrigation department officials and L&T representatives, the company contracted to build the barrage. He directed officials and the company to implement all interim measures recommended by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) urgently.
He mentioned that the Chief Minister will visit the barrage next week and that he will accompany him to check on the progress of the interim monsoon protection works recommended by the NDSA.
The NDSA recommended several measures, including the use of specialised equipment to monitor the stability of the partially sunk Block 7 of the barrage. It advised constructing girder/truss or box girders with bracing systems to prevent further tilting of damaged piers and called for driving sheet piles to a depth of nine metres immediately after the downstream plinth slabs following geophysical investigations.
The NDSA also recommended lifting all the gates in Block 7 and, if necessary, cutting out the stuck gates 20 and 21. So far, L&T engineers, after being instructed by the department on May 15 to begin the work, have lifted one gate. The two stuck gates will be lifted after filling a huge cavern formed by the washing out of sand and other strata from under the Block 7 foundation with a mixture of cement and sand.
Additionally, the large amounts of sand accumulated on the upstream and downstream sides of the barrage are being cleared to ensure smooth and even water flow when the monsoon rains begin.
