Kaleshwaram barrages rehab works will begin in mid-Nov.: Uttam

The State Government has decided to take up the rehabilitation and restoration works on the three Kaleshwaram Project barrages — Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla — from the second week of November, and before that the designs would be vetted by the Technical Oversight Committee of the Central Water Commission (CWC) on October 5.

With focus on safety and quality in works, the government is planning to complete the rehabilitation works by following the recommendations of the technical bodies and make the barrages ready for water storage and lifting before the onset of next monsoon season (2027), Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said here on Saturday.

Reviewing the rehabilitation proposals with senior irrigation officials, he said that the State Government had finalised the designs to restore the safety and operational reliability of all three barrages. The rehabilitation scheme prepared by the project designer includes strengthening the foundations through grouting, extending the stilling basins and constructing fresh cutoff walls.

The interventions were intended to address deficiencies in the earlier energy-dissipation arrangements, foundation stability and under-seepage control, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said adding that the rehabilitation strategy was formulated after taking into account the concerns raised by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) and other expert bodies. The works would be executed strictly based on scientific studies and recommendations of national-level technical institutions.

The proposed designs were undergoing validation through computational fluid dynamics modelling at the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune. The modelling would assess hydraulic behaviour and verify the efficiency of the proposed energy-dissipation measures under different flow conditions. The designs would be presented to the Technical Oversight Committee under the Central Water Commission in New Delhi on October 5 for expert examination and recommendations, the Minister said.

The Irrigation and Command Area Development Department was preparing detailed cost estimates and finalising the contractual mechanism required for government approval. The process would facilitate immediate tendering and award of works following approval of designs, he stated.