NDSA Tells State to Immediately Repair, Rehabilitate Singur Dam
The NDSA further said the earthen dam must be restored at the earliest without any loss of time.
Hyderabad: The National Dam Safety Authority has directed the Telangana government to submit an action plan within a week on the steps it is taking to safeguard the Singur dam, and warned that if works required for repairs and rehabilitation of the dam are not taken up, failing which the “dam owners” will be held responsible under the Dam Safety Act 2021’s provisions.
This directive was issued in a letter dated August 13, to the irrigation department’s engineer-in-chief who also holds the position of chairman of the state committee on dam safety, from the NDSA southern region office. The NDSA said after a study of the dam safety review panel (DSRP) report on the M. Bagareddy Singur Project, it concluded that the issues raised in the report “indicate that the stability of the dam is in a high-risk condition warranting immediate strengthening measures.”
The NDSA further said the earthen dam must be restored at the earliest “without any loss of time.” It also pointed out that since important water resources projects - the Manjira barrage, and Nizamsagar dam - are downstream of the Singur project, its safety is very critical.
The NDSA noted that the dam’s upstream revetment at Singur dam was found severely damaged and was “devoid of revetment stones at various locations near the full reservoir level portion,” and that for several years, the water stored in the reservoir was well above the designed level of 517.8 metres, to “maintain minimum level” required for the Mission Bhagiratha scheme.
