L&T pins blame on irrigation dept for Medigadda damage

Hyderabad: The L and T Company held the State Irrigation Department responsible for the damage and poor management of the Medigadda barrage in Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme. The contract agency told the Justice Ghose Commission that the irrigation wing had not responded to the request to change the designs of the Medigadda despite repeated pleas from the agency. The barrage would not have suffered such a big damage if the timely action was taken by the irrigation wing, L and T Company officials said while the Ghose Commission was recording their statements on Medigadda on Friday.

L&T Project Director Ramakrishna Raju, Vice Chairman Suresh and another official Rajneesh appeared before the Commission. The Commission posed questions on the project construction, quality, and Block 7 construction.

When the Commission asked whether quality was maintained in the construction, L&T representatives maintained that the agency constructed the structures with 100 per cent quality. They also disclosed that the Medigadda was constructed as per the designs and drawings provided by the Irrigation Department.

The apron and CC blocks at the bottom of the dam were damaged because the water flow velocity was higher than the design estimation. They expressed the opinion that the project blocks sank due to this. The representatives also told the Commission that problems arose in the Medigadda dam only after the first season of the storage of water. The Irrigation Department had been requested to provide suitable designs to solve the problems. However, there was no response from the Irrigation Department even after four years. If the defects had been resolved in 2019, the barrage would not have been in such danger.

They said that problems continued in barrage and that the impact may have fallen on the seventh block. L&T representatives also clarified that the agency had not given any subcontracts in the construction of the Medigadda. The government has not paid any money for the coffer dam. The government gave a certificate of completion of the dam and the defect liability period has also expired.