HYDERABAD: The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) is very worried about the collapse of the Pedavagu project in Aswaraopet mandal, Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Telangana.
The NDSA has asked the state government for details about the pre-monsoon inspection of the project and a full report on why it collapsed.
The authority also issued warnings to four officials for not doing their jobs properly. It was found that only 10 out of the required 30 workers were assigned to the project. Bhadradri District Chief Engineer, Srinivas Reddy, has advised the state’s irrigation secretary to take action against Executive Engineer Suresh Kumar, Deputy Executive Engineer Krishna, Assistant Executive Engineer Krishna, and another official for their negligence.
The collapse of the Pedavagu project, blamed on negligence by both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments, has caused major losses for farmers in the project’s irrigated area. This project, which has been around for decades, irrigates 16,500 acres, with about 14,000 acres in Andhra Pradesh. After Telangana was formed, the project was transferred to the Godavari River Management Board under the central government.
Andhra Pradesh was supposed to cover 80% of the project’s maintenance and supervision costs, while Telangana would cover 20%. However, the Telangana Water Resources Department managed the project’s headworks located within Telangana. Recent heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh increased water flow, causing breaches at three points of the Pedavagu project.
If officials had assessed the situation in time and released the water properly, the disaster could have been prevented. Because they didn’t act in time, thousands of acres of crops were flooded, and sand was deposited in the fields. Farmers are now facing a tough situation, with an estimated cost of Rs 30,000 per acre to remove the sand.
Even though Telangana has only a 20% share in the project, the previous BRS government had allocated Rs 1.20 crore for its modernization. Initial estimates indicate that about 1,200 acres of crops were affected by the Pedavagu breach. This includes 400 acres of paddy, 350 acres of cotton, over 50 acres of oil palm, and sand deposition in another 300 acres. The breach has caused widespread damage in Pothuru, Bachhuvarigudem, Narayanapuram, Vaddirangapuram, Khammampadu, and other areas. Even mature oil palm trees were washed away by the floodwaters.
