Vigilance Probe Ordered into Manair Check Dam Collapses

Karimnagar: The State government has ordered a comprehensive vigilance inquiry into the recent collapse of multiple check dams constructed across the Manair River in the erstwhile Karimnagar district.

Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy announced the probe following serious allegations of substandard construction and possible sabotage by the sand mafia.

The inquiry comes after three major structural failures were reported within a month. Check dams at Gumpula in Karimnagar district, Tanugula in Peddapalli district, and the structure located between Adavi Somanpalli and Vallemkunta villages, along the border of Jayashankar Bhupalpally and Peddapalli districts, were found destroyed.

The government has initiated an investigation to determine whether the collapses were caused by natural factors, poor-quality construction, or deliberate blasting to facilitate illegal sand mining. The incidents have triggered a sharp political exchange. While BRS leaders alleged that the sand mafia had blown up the check dams to ease illegal sand transportation, Congress leaders and Union minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar pointed to commission-driven substandard works executed during the previous BRS regime.

Clarifying the scope of the inquiry, minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said the vigilance team would examine whether construction materials, design specifications and foundation depth adhered to safety norms, and whether explosives were used to damage the structures.

Meanwhile, local authorities have initiated criminal investigations. FIRs have been registered at the Jammikunta and Koyyuru police stations, and teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory have visited the sites to collect samples to check for traces of detonators or gelatin sticks.

Congress leaders from the Manthani constituency recently met Peddapalli district collector Koya Harsha, seeking transparency in the probe. They pointed out that the Adavi Somanpalli check dam had withstood floods of 1.2 million cusecs in 2023, but collapsed recently when the river flow was reportedly at a low of around 1,000 cusecs, making a natural failure highly unlikely.