Why did Medigadda Barrage pillar Sink? Mystery continues Officials tight lipped
Hyderabad: Though it is over 16 hours since the pillars of Medigadda barrage sunk, there is no official version of the incident and no official is available to make any statement and at least give the preliminary information about the possible cause for the sinking of the pillars.
Even the major construction company L&T and its officials are not responding to phone calls. Hans India tried to contact the P R department of L&T which is dealing with the project but neither the officials responded to the calls nor did they respond to the messages.
After undaunted efforts of over two hours the spokesperson of L&T simply said that "We are working closely with the authorities in evaluating the impact of excessive water flow. A team of experts have rushed to the site to undertake necessary precautions and investigate further.".
The agency officials were not ready to share the details of the extent of the damages caused to the barrage due to sinking of the pillars. They also said the total extent of loss incurred due to pillar damage was not yet estimated.
Even the Telangana Irrigation officials are tight lipped over the incident. Instructions have been given to all not to speak about it and this further increases the suspicion over the reasons for the pillar getting sunk. Was it poor quality execution of work or was it sabotage? No one knows. All that some officials say is that they are yet to evaluate the cause and are on job. Fine but some preliminary assessment should have been made by now. With such massive administration in place it is not possible that no preliminary cause has been made known, opposition leaders feel.
One of the senior most officials in Irrigation department reluctantly said, “Officials suspects " Bearings blast" behind Pillar damage at Medigadda. What is bearing blast? Well the officials say that perhaps the bearings installed under the pillar could not bear the weight of the pillar and they got broken? It may be mentioned here that the project was inaugurated in June 2019 amidst much fanfare and all kinds of first about the quality and quantum of material used was announced in a detailed presentation.
Telangana State Irrigation officials said that a team of engineers led by Kaleshwaram Engineer in chief Venkateshwarlu were evaluating the situation at Medigadda barrage incident.
After over two hours of efforts the spokesperson of L&T simply said that "We are working closely with the authorities in evaluating the impact of excessive water flow. A team of experts have rushed to the site to undertake necessary precautions and investigate further."