Complete retaining wall works on war footing: Ministers

Hyderabad/Khammam: Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy have instructed officials to complete the construction of Munneru retaining wall works on a war footing, permanently free the people of Khammam town from the flood threat.

Both Ministers jointly held a review meeting with officials on the progress of the retaining wall works at the Secretariat in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Speaking on the occasion, Minister Ponguleti said the RCC concrete walls are being constructed on both sides of the river to protect Khammam city from the Munneru flood, and advised the officials to construct a wall with a proper design to channel the floodwaters in the right direction without any possibility of flooding in Khammam city.

“The officials should speed up the land acquisition process as well as the construction works of retaining wall. I will personally monitor it twice a month. In next two or three days, I will also hold a review with the officials of Khammam district,” Ponguleti revealed.

He also instructed the officials to bring any problems encountered in the construction of the wall to his attention and said that the wall should be constructed keeping in mind the floods that occurred from 1969 to September 2024.

The Minister said that a wall of approximately 23 km is being constructed to provide convenience to the people of both Khammam and Paleru Assembly constituencies. Irrigation Principal Secretary Rahul Bojja, Special Secretary Prashant Jeevan Patil, ENC Anil Kumar, and other officials were in the meeting.