Engineering staff of the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Project are encountering a shortage of sand although the riverbed of the Godavari is right under their feet.
The sand requirement is 300 cubic metres a day at the site where work on the pump house and pipelines leading to the Polavaram right main canal is in progress.
But the project is hardly getting 100 cubic metres a day now and the demand-supply gap is widening by the day.
“We have brought the issue to the notice of the Irrigation Minister,” said K.V. Ramana Rao, associate vice-president of Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), the contractor of the project.
“Unless supply is increased, it is going to be tough for us to complete the work in time.”
As per the government’s new sand policy, all contractors have to buy sand from designated agencies/self-help groups (SHG) .
New motors to arrive
Mr. Rao further said that 70 per cent of the work on the project has been completed with eight pumps and six motors reaching the project site and two more motors scheduled to arrive in a few days.
Water has been pumped into the project from pump number six in the last 10 days. “Everything is going on as per schedule but for the shortage of sand,” the MEIL official said.
The lift irrigation project is designed to pump floodwaters from the Godavari to the Krishna basin.
It is estimated to cost Rs. 1,426 crore, a controversial allocation that has figured in debates in the Legislative Assembly.
Pending bills
However, MEIL officials said their bills were pending with the government.
“The government has to clear Rs. 25 crore for the transformers and another Rs. 30 crore for the diaphragm wall,” said Mr. Rao.
The project is getting 100 cubic metre
of sand a day compared to the requirement of 300 cubic metres a day
