The Dam Design Review Panel (DDRP) of the Polavaram Irrigation Project on Sunday gave its approval for repairs of damaged portions of the diaphragm wall after it was satisfied with a structural stability report issued by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
The approval of the DDRP is significant as repairs can now be taken up at the earliest without the need for construction of a new diaphragm wall, said officials.
During the recent Godavari floods, parts of the diaphragm wall had collapsed at two places while the remaining wall up to a length of nearly 700 metres was intact. The NHPC was asked whether the remaining portion of the wall supports repair works or whether a new diaphragm wall needed to be built.
The NHPC, which carried out technical investigations of the dam after the floods, submitted its report on the structural stability of the diaphragm wall a few days ago.
As many as 38 experts representing the Central Water Commission (CWC), DDRP, Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), NHPC and State Water Resources Department reviewed the status of the diaphragm wall in Rajamahendravaram during the 21st DDRP meeting held on March 5.
Speaking to The Hindu, Water Resources Department (Andhra Pradesh) Engineer-In-Chief C. Narayana Reddy said that the DDRP had said that repair work of the diaphragm wall could be taken up with immediate effect based on the NHPC’s report. The methodologies to carry out the repair works to fill the gaps formed during the recent floods in the Godavari in the diaphragm wall had been extensively discussed, he said.
Work to resume
“Initially, we will fill the gaps formed in the diaphragm wall by resuming work on the project site from March 6. The machinery and plan of action to carry out the repair works are ready on the ground,” Mr. Narayana Reddy, who is also a member of the DDRP, said.
DDRP Chairman and former Central Water Commission Chairman A.B. Pandya, Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) Chief Executive Officer Shive Nandan Kumar, and former NHPC Director D.P. Bhargava and experts reviewed the project on March 5.
Meanwhile, addressing the media at the Polavaram irrigation project site, Water Resources Minister Ambati Rambabu said that an additional cost of ₹2,000 crore would have to be borne to complete the repairs of the diaphragm wall as work was delayed by two years.
