Medigadda barrage project taken up sans model studies

Hyderabad: While the Justice Ghose Commission was serious on a top official for not furnishing information about the project works, the State Research Laboratory Engineers in the irrigation department accepted that the previous state government has taken up the construction of Medigadda barrage under Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project even before the completion of the model studies. The project works were also taken up without considering the monsoon report.

A team of research engineers appeared before Justice Ghose Commission on Kaleshwaram which conducted an open house enquiry here on Friday. One of the Research Chief engineers, Sridevi gave a shock to the Ghose Commission. The official evaded in giving answers to the volley of questions posed by the Commission in the hearing. She said that she was oblivions of the details and project reports pertaining to the construction of Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages. Sridevi served as an engineer between 2018 and 2020 during the construction of the Kaleshwaram project.

The research engineers admitted that the Field officers have not lifted the gates when the barrages received heavy inflows and it could be the main reason for the damage of the barrages, mainly, Medigadda. The team conducted model studies before the start of the project works and after the completion. However, the government took up the project works without considering the model studies.