HYDERABAD: With the monsoon season looming, a supervisory committee of senior irrigation department officials has made it clear that the companies that built the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages must complete urgent protection works at the structures to save them from further damage.
The committee, which met on Saturday to take stock of the progress of protection works suggested earlier this month by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), arrived at the conclusion that, with time being short, the focus for now should be to ensure protection of the barrages from the expected monsoon flooding of Godavari river.
The committee is headed by engineer-in-chief (ENC) (general) Anil Kumar, and comprises being ENC (O&M) Nagender Rao, chief engineer (Central Designs Organisation), and CE Ramagundam circle, Sudhakar Reddy.
The meeting is learnt to have decided that further repair and restoration works should be taken up only after the completion of a thorough study of the structures and the condition of the ground below them.
To ensure that the companies, L&T which built Medigadda barrage, Afcons-Vijeta that built Annaram, and Navayuga which built the Sundilla barrages, are following the instructions, Anil Kumar is expected to begin a field visit on Monday starting with an inspection at Medigadda.
Meanwhile, sources said in response to requests from the companies that any work should be seen as a new work and should be paid for as a separate contract, the department made it clear that it first expects the works, as suggested by the NDSA are taken up and completed.
