The central government would discuss with AP ways to deal with the damage to Polavaram Irrigation projects diaphragm wall and the spillways guide bund, at a meeting in New Delhi on Sunday, July 9.
In a recent meeting chaired by Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Shekhawat, it was decided that members from central water commission, the Polavaram project authority as also officials from the Jal Shakti ministry and AP Resources“>Water Resources department would meet again to deliberate on the steps to be taken to address the issue of damage to components of the project. Shekhawat wanted safety to be the top priority irrespective of considerations like cost escalation.
AP water resources authorities say that the Union minister stressed that there should be no future complications once the repair or replacement works are done for the two damaged components. The responsibility for this must be taken by those who oversee the works.
As for the diaphragm wall, there is a proposal to construct parallel walls at four portions to replace the damaged portions and connect the new walls to the existing undamaged wall. However, safety issues have been raised. Nowhere in the world had such an experiment been carried out so far, it was stated.
According to an estimate, it would require nearly `400 crore to carry out the repair works and construct a parallel diaphragm wall in four portions. If the whole length of the diaphragm wall spread over 1,300 metres is to be erected anew, it would cost nearly `800 crore.