Hyderabad: The National Dam Safety Authority’s (NDSA) six-member expert team that investigated the sinking of piers in Block-7 of Medigadda (Laxmi) barrage of the Kaleshwaram project faulted the project’s planning and design in its report, stating that the damage was caused by a combination of issues involving planning, design, quality control, and operation and maintenance.
Following the discovery of the project’s pillars caving in on October 21 evening, the NDSA committee visited the barrage site on October 23 and 24 and met with irrigation department officials on October 24. The 43-page study made disparaging observations about the project.
According to the order of the Union Jal Shakti ministry, pillars numbering 15 to 20 of the sixth to eighth blocks of the barrage caved in after pillar number 20 of Block 7 of the barrage had partially sunk.
The committee said that data/inputs on only 11 of the 20 aspects were submitted by the Telangana government.
“The primary reason for the failure is the settlement of the barrage raft. The piers, being monolith with it, have also settled, moved, and cracked. This could occur due to several possible reasons such as piping, wherein transportation of foundation material has occurred. Inadequate bearing capacity of the foundation material (sand), failure of upstream secant piles due to barrage load also led to the failure”, the report explained.
The committee also observed that there appears to be a ‘construction deficiency’ due to a lack of ‘stringent quality control’ during the construction of sub-surface contiguous secant piles and plinth connected between the raft and cut-offs.
“Gaps might have been created in the secant pile formation, making the barrier permeable, leading to piping and subsequent progressive failure”, the report read.
BRS calls report ‘politically motivated’
Kaleshwaram project is the BRS’ flagship project with a total cost of Rs 80000 crores.
Slamming the report, the BRS said that the project had been cleared by the Central Water Commission (CWC), which reports to the Union government.
Telangana minister K T Rama Rao termed the report as ‘politically motivated’ and questioned the timing of its delivery which came just less than a month before the state Assembly elections.
BJP reacts
BJP state president and Union minister G Kishan Reddy said the “hollowness of the world engineering marvel Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) was exposed today” with the report submitted by the experts committee of National Dam Safety Authority (NDSF).
He said that the committee in its report submitted to the Jala Shakthi ministry has categorically stated that there are fundamental lapses in the project including planning, design, quality control, and operations and maintenance.
He said that even the selection of the project site was wrong and now the future of the project has become a question mark.
Kishan Reddy said that he would be visiting the project on October 4, Saturday and already party leader E Rajender had visited it first.
