Diaphragm wall works to be completed before monsoon

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that the contractors, Keller Construction, Bauer and L&T Geo will be relieved from Polavaram Irrigation Project works on June 10 after completing the diaphragm wall and jet grouting of cofferdam.

The Chief Minister expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress of project works and asked explanation from the contract agencies. Reviewing the Polavaram project works on Monday, the Chief Minister said, “Completing the works before the monsoon starts is crucial, so observing the forecast of rainfall and climate should be a continuous procedure”, he said. 

Chandrababu Naidu said that the contract agencies such as Keller Construction, Bauer and L&T Geo will be relieved from project works on June 10 once the diaphragm wall and jet grouting works were completed. 

``A gallery walk of about 2 km will be constructed, passing through the dam site, and was expected to be completed by August. “Once the gallery walk is completed, it represents significant progress of the project”, said Principal Secretary (Water Resources) Shashi Bhushan.

Officials reported to the Chief Minister that the project has reached an overall progress of 53.5% which includes excavation, concrete laying, diaphragm wall, jet grouting, radial gates, connectivities, the Right Main Canal and the Left Main Canal. The Chief Minister virtually inspected the progress using a live drone feed. 

The Chief Minister was informed that 72.6% of the excavation for the spillway and spill channel has been completed. This week, 5.59 lakh cubic metres of earthwork was excavated for the spill channel, pilot channel, spillway, left bank and approach channel.

Concrete laying for the spillway, stilling basin, filling of crevices and spill channel, has witnessed a progress of 21.83%. 29,000 cubic metres have been laid this week, and the cumulative progress achieved is 8.03 lakh cubic metres out of 36.79 lakh cubic metres. 

With regard to other projects, officials said the Adavipalli Reservoir was expected to be completed by May 31 and works on the Kuppam Branch Canal will start next week. The canal will be readied for use by the end of June.

The Chief Minister also asked officials to complete forest clearances and land acquisitions for the Somasila Swarnamukhi and linked projects, Althurupadu, Mallemadugu and Venugopala Sagar. 

He also asked them to extend the Jalasamrakshana Udyamam till the end of June, making it a 139-day programme. Officials said that 85 per cent of tank feeder channels and 73 per cent of check dams and restoration of micro irrigation tanks have been completed.

The Chief Minister said that the purpose of the extension is to ensure that all targets can be achieved, because there is a 13% deficit in rainfall so far.