Medigadda to be ready by June 2027, says Uttam

Hyderabad: Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said that the Medigadda barrage would be operational by June 2027. He said that the designs for the repairs and rehabilitation of all three barrages, Medigadda, Sundilla and Annaram, part of Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme, would ready by Sept 2026, and that the works would begin in Oct or Nov this year.

The minister visited the Medigadda barrage on Wednesday and reviewed the ongoing investigation works. Speaking after reviewing the progress of investigation, testing and rehabilitation planning at the project site, the minister said that hydrological studies, GPR tests, geotechnical borehole studies and other technical assessments were being taken up on a fast-track basis.

He said that most of the preliminary investigations had already been completed, while the remaining studies were expected to be completed by the end of June or the first week of July. Based on these findings, detailed rehabilitation designs would be prepared and submitted to the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) for approval.

Uttam said that the actual rehabilitation works were likely to begin after the monsoon season, possibly by the end of Nov or in the first week of Dec. The govt would make every effort to complete the works within a single working season and restore the barrages by the summer of 2027. He said the Congress govt was not interested in politicising the issue, although serious mistakes had marred the project in the past. “Our focus is on accountability, safety and completion. We want to ensure that the barrages are restored properly and safely,” he said.

Uttam said that the damage to the three barrages occurred in Oct 2023 during the previous govt’s tenure. He added that central agencies found serious deficiencies in design, construction and operation, he said. “The GPR tests were almost 80 to 90% complete across the three barrages. Borehole and geotechnical investigations are also nearly 75 to 80% complete and are expected to be completed by June-end. Some boreholes have been drilled to depths ranging between 40 and 80 metres to get deeper geological data,” he said.

Uttam made it clear that all future designs, repairs and additional works would be taken up only with the concurrence of the CWC and NDSA. This was necessary to ensure that the rehabilitated barrages remain safe and functional for the next several decades.