State Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the government has decided to put the actual aspects of the Kaleshwaram project before the public and will take necessary steps in that direction. On Friday, a group of ministers including Ponguleti, Sridhar Babu, Ponnam Prabhakar and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy visited the Lakshmi Barrage constructed at Medigadda in Bhupalpally district. The project was inspected along with the senior officials of the State Irrigation Department and other concerned officials.
The district collector welcomed the group of Telangana ministers who came to the district to visit the Kaleshwaram project. State Irrigation Department ENC made a power point presentation on the construction of Kaleshwaram project, collapse of Medigadda barrage, repair of Annaram and Sundilla barrages etc. He said that in the 7th block of Medigadda Barrage, a pillar in Medigadda has sagged up to 1.256 meters, the damage is still being ascertained and the copper dam is currently being constructed and after this construction, repairs or reconstruction has to be done. ENC said that the expert committee has indicated that new gates will also have to be installed.
Uttam Kumar Reddy, Minister of Irrigation and Civil Supplies, said that 11,000 crores have also been spent, and after the formation of Telangana state, the government shifted the project plan to Medigadda, so far Rs.95,000 crores have been spent on the Kaleshwaram project. He said it was the biggest project in the world, it was wonderful, but it was unfortunate that the Medigadda barrage was damaged. He said that Medigadda was not the only one, Annaram and Sundilla barrages were also damaged and it should be examined. He said that as per the promise given to the people during the elections, a judicial inquiry will be conducted on the irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project. He said that the previous state government had failed to achieve national status for Kaleshwaram and now his government will take steps towards achieving national status for Palamuru Rangareddy project.