Uttam Kumar Reddy warns of legal action against L&T, others for sloppy work on Kaleshwaram barrages

HYDERABAD: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday held a meeting with representatives of L&T that built the Medigadda (Laxmi) barrage of the multi-stage lift irrigation project Kaleshwaram.

A section of the pier of the barrage sagged resulting in the shutting down of a section of the project and draining out of the stored water.

L&T group director SV Desai and his team met the Irrigation Minister at the State Secretariat. The Minister expressed dismay over the poor quality of work executed by the construction major L&T at the meeting. He reportedly advised the company representatives that they could not shirk responsibility by simply submitting letters to the Irrigation Department on conditions of repair because the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) was built at a huge cost, with the help of taxpayers’ money.

While asking the Irrigation Department officials to submit a comprehensive report on the sagging of the pier of the Medigadda barrage, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that none would be spared for the damage caused to the barrage.

He also urged the officials to summon contractors who had built the Annaram and Sundilla barrages under the KLIP to ascertain their role in the lacunae found in those two barrages also. He warned that the Government would not hesitate to initiate legal proceedings against those companies.