Congress, BJP on Same Page in Attacking BRS over Part-Sinking of Medigadda Barrage

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Nov 3: Two bitter adversaries, the Congress and the BJP are finding themselves on the same page in criticising the Bharat Rashtra Samithi-ruled Telangana government’s flagship lift irrigation project after a section of a barrage sunk in the Godavari river last month.

Both the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the union minister G Kishan Reddy, who is also the chief of the state BJP, described the project as the “symbol of corruption of the BRS government.”

The ruling party in turn has questioned the timing and motive behind the publication of a report by a central panel declaring the entire project, which the state government claimed had earned international accolades, “useless.”

The National Dam Safety Authority’s (NDSA) report comes just weeks before Telangana votes in an Assembly election and heaps pressure on Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who now faces a barrage of criticism from the BJP, the Congress and other opposition parties in the southern state. The report has triggered a political row in the poll-bound state seeking answers from the chief minister eying for a third straight term.

The central panel on dam safety has ripped into the state government after sections of the Medigadda (Lakshmi) barrage (which diverts, rather than stores, water) sank into the Godavari River last month, making the structure “useless unless fully rehabilitated.” The barrage is part of the ruling BRS’ flagship ₹ 80,000 crore Kaleshwaram Multi-Lift Irrigation Project.

The BRS has hit back at the report, pointing out that the project had been cleared by the Central government’s Central Water Commission. Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao, who is the chief minister’s son, slammed the report as “politically motivated” and questioned its timing, coming just a week before the Assembly poll.

“Every single irrigation project in India, including Kaleshwaram, is eventually vetted by the CWC… only after they approve all specs is it given clearance… while construction and later, a CWC team called it an ‘engineering marvel’ and we got an award in the United States too.” “I am not sure what report said but if the CWC is now finding fault with a project that catapulted Telangana to become ‘the granary of India,’ we have to question timing and motive.”

Reported on the evening of October 21, the incident resulted in the sinking of six pillars – from the 15th to the 20th – and probable weakening of the gates at the sixth, seventh and eighth blocks. The extent of damage, the panel reported, means the whole barrage may have to be rebuilt.

The pillars – meant to be able to withstand the force of 16,000 million cubic feet of water – sank several inches into the riverbed, exposing “deficiencies” in the planning and execution of a project that was “designed as floating structure but constructed as a rigid structure,” the panel’s report said. Reports said the piers sank due to ‘heavy water flow’ – 1.3 million cubic feet – in a fortnight.

Reports also said the weakening of the Medigadda barrage forced all 85 gates to be opened and up to 10 million cubic feet of water to be released – water meant for drinking and irrigation purposes.

The report hit out at the Telangana government for “failure in planning, design, quality control, as well as operation and maintenance.” It also states the NDSA had requested the Telangana government to conduct regular inspections to “check for unusual behaviour or signs of distress.” “But it appears that this has not been complied with. This is a significant omission,” the panel said.

“The barrage under the present condition is rendered useless until fully rehabilitated. The damaged block, No. 7, has to be structurally restored… to make it functional… likelihood of failure of other blocks… This would warrant rehabilitating (reconstructing) the whole barrage,” its report warned.

The panel flagged the Annaram and Sundilla barrages – upstream of the Medigadda one – as being “prone to similar failure modes,” and suggested a shutdown of the reservoir till repairs are made.

The Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visited the incident site on Thursday, and said, “… visited Medigadda barrage, which is a part of the corruption-ridden Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme in Telangana.”

G Kishan Reddy attacked the ruling party for “corruption… failed projects… leakages.” “Telangana’s decades-long fight for statehood has centred around water and statehood was achieved after supreme sacrifices by thousands and a relentless agitation by all sections. Today, 10 years after its formation, Telangana, under BRS … after spending 1.5 lakh crore… cannot harvest its water,” he said.

The project was inaugurated in June 2019 by the Chief Minister himself. Billed as the world’s largest multi-stage multipurpose lift irrigation scheme, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Reddy and then Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were among the VIP guests at the grand event.

The project is designed to irrigate 45 lakh acres and provide drinking water to 70 per cent of Telangana. The Medigadda barrage is the first lift level and is supposed to carry at least two thousand million cubic feet of water, via six more lifts, to the Konda Pochamma Sagar Reservoir near Hyderabad.