3 More Army Engineers To Help State Complete SLBC Tunnel, Repair KLIS Barrages
The Telangana government is seeking additional Army engineers to assist with the SLBC tunnel works and repairs to three Kaleshwaram barrages.
Efforts to bolster technical expertise for completing the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel, and repairs to the Medigadda, Sundilla and Annaram barrages of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS) appeared to receive a boost with the Indian Army agreeing to depute more of its engineers to Telangana.
Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday said the Military Secretary’s Branch of the Integrated Headquarters of the ministry of defence has offered three officers for selection by the Telangana government. While the Army has asked the state to pick one from Lt Col Satyadev Singh, Lt Col Ranjit A. Menon and Lt Col H. V. Bhalla, the state government is likely to request that all three officers be deputed to the state.
The offer from the Army came following a recent meeting between Uttam Kumar Reddy and Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth in New Delhi during which the minister explained the technical complexity and strategic importance of the SLBC tunnel and the repair and rehabilitation of the three Kaleshwaram barrages.
“As a former military officer, I have the highest regard for the professional standards, knowledge, integrity, discipline and problem-solving abilities of armed forces personnel. Military officers are trained to perform in difficult terrain, disaster situations and highly challenging operational environments. They combine technical competence with leadership, accountability and a mission-oriented approach,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
“The participation of Army engineers will strengthen quality control, improve field-level coordination, accelerate decision-making and bring greater discipline and accountability to execution. Telangana will benefit immensely from the Armed Forces’ culture of completing every mission with precision, commitment and honour,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
“Our experience with Col Parikshit Mehra, who had been serving with Telangana on deputation, has been extraordinary. He has reinforced our belief that experienced military engineers can add tremendous value to technically complicated infrastructure projects. In light of that experience, we requested the Army Chief to depute more officers. I am grateful that General Dhiraj Seth and Army Headquarters responded so positively and promptly,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
Under the deployment being considered, one of the three officers would supervise operations at the SLBC tunnel’s two excavation fronts, including work inside the tunnel near the excavation faces. The remaining two officers would be assigned to the repair and rehabilitation works covering the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages.
