Cyclone threat puts off Polavaram gate installation

Amaravati: Installation of Polavaram gates, which was scheduled to commence from Monday, has been put off to December 24 due to the Cyclone Phethai threat. Nevertheless, all the 48 gates would be ready by May 2019. According to Water Resources Minister D Umamaheswara Rao, the first gate erection work was scheduled on December 17 but had to be postponed due to cyclone threat to coastal Andhra Pradesh on December 16 and 17. "Polavaram project site may get rain due to the impact of cyclone and may hamper the works," he said, speaking to media persons here on Saturday.

He said that the State government was determined to release water by gravity from Polavaram by June 2019. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu would launch the gates' installation work at the project site on December 24. Referring to spillway concrete works, he said the proposed 28,800 cubic metres concrete laying works will be done in the first week of January 2019 instead of December 16 and 17 and it would be a Guinness book of world record.  He said the contractor Navayuga Engineering company and irrigation officials have made elaborate arrangements for the 24-hour non-stop concrete works. 

He said the Polavaram spillway concrete works will surpass the Guinness record created in UAE for construction of a project in the Gulf state. He announced the State government had spent Rs.10,069 crore for Polavaram works during the last four and half years but the Union government has released only Rs.6700 crore so far. 

Umamaheswara Rao has alleged that the Central Government was deliberately delaying the release of pending Polavaram funds. He said the State government is submitting utilisation certificates regularly but the Union government was not releasing funds. He said: “The Central Government should release arrears in order to complete the works as early as possible." He said that 62 per cent of the total Polavaram project works have been completed.