Congress Vs BRS on NDSA report on Kaleshwaram project

Releasing the final report of the National Dam Safety Authority (NSDA) on the Kaleshwaram project, Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the agency confirmed the structural collapse of all three barrages of the project.

The NDSA called for a holistic rehabilitation design, comprehensive assessment of health and safety of the entire barrage, and immediate stabilization measures to arrest ongoing distress to the structure. It also recommended comprehensive geotechnical studies, advanced geophysical assessments to establish a reliable baseline of the ground conditions and structure for future interventions.

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The NDSA alleged lack of proper geotechnical investigations, design deficiencies, construction defects, structural distress, operation and maintenance failure and ignoring dam safety aspects. “The collapse of Kaleshwaram is not a natural tragedy. It is a direct result of the BRS government’s irresponsible decisions. It has dealt a serious blow to Telangana’s finances and the lives of the farmers. Telangana is paying Rs 16,000 crore every year just in loan payments for this failed project. This is public money lost due to a political stunt,” said the minister while pointing fingers at the previous BRS regime and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

The NDSA report recommended urgent stabilization, repair, and rehabilitation of the damaged structures and technical expertise for the necessary intervention. The minister assured them they were working on a scientific plan, with inputs from experts and no political interference.

Alleging that this has led to the loss of credibility for the state government, Reddy said when they had sought clearance for the Sitarama Sagar project recently, officials at Jal Shakti ministry refused saying the state’s irrigation system had collapsed. “This is not politics. This is a rare and gross failure of public infrastructure. A judicial commission has already been constituted and will take note of these facts,” Reddy added.

Slamming the NDSA, the BRS wondered why it didn’t visit the under-construction Polavaram dam in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, although it suffered damages during floods. “NDSA is working as a pocket company of NDA. This is a political conspiracy of both Congress and the BJP,” said BRS leader T Harish Rao, who was the irrigation minister during the first five years of BRS government. It was during his tenure that Kaleshwaram was conceived. He lashed out at the Congress government, pointing out that the SLBC tunnel collapse was a bigger disaster and the government failed to recover the six bodies even though 60 days passed after the accident.