Congress blames BRS for Kaleshwaram project design, Medigadda accident; to conduct judicial, technical probe

HYDERABAD: Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy has said that it is shameful that the Medigadda barrage collapsed within three years of its construction and that action will be taken against those responsible for the accident.

The Congress Government on Friday inspected the Medigadda barrage which is part of the prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. Uttam Kumar Reddy was accompanied by Ministers Sridhar Babu, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and other leaders. Three piers in Block 7 at Medigadda barrage had sunk in the third week of October 2023. The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) officials visited the site and said there were lapses in the designing, planning and construction of the project and that the barrage couldn't be used until the entire block was reconstructed.

In a Powerpoint presentation, irrigation officials explained the current situation of the barrage to the Ministers. During the presentation, Uttam said, "Suspicions were raised ever since the Kaleshwaram project was inaugurated. K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has not responded on Medigadda barrage collapse till today. We have announced in the Legislative Assembly that we will conduct a judicial inquiry into the accident."

He added that the Pranahitha-Chevella Lift Irrigation Project of the previous Congress Government was better than the Kaleswaram. The Ministers opined that the BRS Government changed the Pranahitha-Chevella project to Kaleshwaram due to political and other reasons.

"Pranahita would have been completed with some flooding issues in Maharashtra. However for Kaleshwaram, the cost of the project increased from Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 1.5 lakh crores. Not only Medigadda barrage is crippled, the Annaram and Sundilla barrages should also be examined,” said Uttam.

The Ministers then bombarded irrigation officials, including Engineer-in-Chief C Muralidhar, with a barrage of questions, demanding written responses to their concerns or raise the issues in a separate review meeting. Uttam, citing his experience of being in the Government previously, emphasised the NDSA report's damning verdict on the Kaleshwaram project's design, construction, and quality.

The Ministers and other Congress leaders including MLA Jeevan Kumar alleged that there were large scale irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project and there was a need to put them out before the public with a judicial and technical inquiry. They lashed out at the BRS Government for abandoning the original gravity-fed water flow plan from Yellampally barrage to Tummidihatti, deeming the current lifting system illogical.

The Ministers also questioned the irrigation department engineers for blindly agreeing to the previous regime's plan of third tmc feet lifting component when the existing two-tmc feet capacity remained underutilised.

On the issue of Medigadda barrage contractor L&T reportedly refusing to bear repair costs, Uttam said that it was being dealt with and its details could not be put out in the open currently. He also criticised the BRS Government for failing to secure national project status for Kaleshwaram.