Khammam: The flooded Godavari in Bhadradri district exposed the lack of quality of the bund works of the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project (SRLIP).
Breaches were caused to the bund and floodwater flowed into the main canal, overflowing the main aqueduct.
The aqueduct was built across the Bandiregulavagu and is located between the two villages of Amerda and Ammagaripalli, under Aswapuram mandal.
An earthen bund was also constructed on both sides of the aqueduct canal so that water reach does not flood the villages.
The Godavari floodwater and the rivulet caused an overflow.
At one stage, the floodwater overflowed the aqueduct and the same water joined in the main canal.
The main canal became another mini-Godavari.
The earthen bunds built to support the aqueduct were unable to withstand the force of a massive quantity of water and there were breaches at two places.
The officials completed the repairs immediately.
The incident raised doubts about the quality of the earthen works of the SRLIP. The earthen works are a major component of the project.
The breaches were not exposed because many did not know what happened to the bund and from where the water was coming into the canal.
All eyes were on the Godavari floods and not concentrated on the bund.
Above 50 per cent of the project works involved earthwork excavation, forming embankments, providing CC lining, including construction of tunnels. The cost of the project is around Rs 13,700 crore.
The incident raised a question about what the quality of the other earthen works going on or completed in SRLIP are. The works pertaining to the Godavari should be strong beyond doubt because floods are common in the Godavari and the SRLIP is being built taking for granted flood waters.
All constructions, including aqueducts, earthen bunds, canals and others near the Godavari should be pucca with no scope for breaches after commencement of the project.
At this stage, the government should check all the completed earthen works by third party quality control teams to know their condition.
