Hyderabad: The L&T Company has blamed the State Irrigation Department for the damage and poor management of the Medigadda barrage, a key part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme. According to the company, the irrigation department ignored repeated requests to modify the barrage’s design. During a hearing with the Justice Ghose Commission on Friday, L&T officials stated that timely action by the department could have prevented the significant damage.
L&T Project Director Ramakrishna Raju, Vice Chairman Suresh, and another official, Rajneesh, appeared before the Commission to address questions regarding the project’s construction, quality, and issues with Block 7. When questioned about the quality of the construction, the L&T representatives asserted that the structures were built with 100% quality standards. They emphasized that the barrage was constructed strictly according to the designs and drawings provided by the Irrigation Department.
The officials explained that the damage to the apron and CC blocks at the bottom of the barrage occurred because the water flow velocity was higher than initially estimated in the design. This, they believe, caused the project blocks to sink. The representatives also pointed out that issues at the Medigadda dam began after the first water storage season. L&T had requested new design solutions from the Irrigation Department to address the problems, but the department failed to respond for four years. They argued that if the defects had been addressed back in 2019, the barrage would not be facing its current challenges.
The L&T team further stated that ongoing problems with the barrage likely affected the seventh block. They clarified that no subcontractors were involved in the construction of the Medigadda barrage. Additionally, they mentioned that the government had not paid for the coffer dam, had issued a certificate of completion for the project, and that the defect liability period for the barrage had already expired.
