Water Grid pylon cracks in Nalgonda

Hyderabad: A pylon constructed at a cost of Rs 2 crore at Chowtuppal town in Nalgonda district, to mark the commencement prestigious Rs 35,000 crore Water Grid programme taken up by the TRS government, has developed cracks and its platform caved in, allegedly due to the poor quality of construction.

Responding to this, TS TD working president and MLA A. Revanth Reddy said, “If this is the quality of work on the pylon that was inaugurated by Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao, we can hazard a guess about the quality of work for the Rs 35,000 crore scheme”.

Mr Revanth Reddy, who inspected the pylon along with local TD leaders in Chowtuppal town on Wednesday, said that the structure had developed as many as 36 cracks, and so far, the government had not taken any action against the contractor.

“This is proof of the corruption prevalent in the government,” he said.

Mr Revanth Reddy alleged that Mr Chandrasekhar Rao and his son K.T. Rama Rao stand to make hundreds of crores in commissions from these contractors.

“The father-son duo is expecting cash to flow from the Water Grid pipelines, and not water,” Mr Revanth Reddy alleged.

Enquiries made by this correspondent revealed that the pylon inaugurated by the Chief Minister on June 8 was given as a “nomination work” (without inviting tenders) to a construction firm belonging to one B. Venkata Reddy, for Rs 1.95 crore.

The pylon had developed cracks and the platform caved in at some portions two months ago.

Local TD functionaries like Jakkili Ailaiah and others visited the site on September 7 and exposed the poor quality of construction.

They also lodged a complaint with the Vigilance and Enforcement Wing of the government seeking action against the contractor.

After this, the Construction firm started repair works and was trying to rectify the damage. Mr Revanth Reddy and other local leaders on Wednesday visited the site when the repair work was still on.