HYDERABAD

Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has stated that every effort is being made to maximise utilisation of Godavari waters for the benefit of farmers in Telangana and reiterated that the government is committed for revival of the Kaleshwaram project barrages.

Mr. Reddy along with Ministers D. Sridhar Babu, G. Vivek and A. Laxman Kumar, legislators and senior officials visited Sriramsagar, Kaddam and Yellampally projects on Saturday.

Speaking after inspecting the three projects, which were getting the first significant inflows of the season. He stated that five pumps were switched on at Nandi Medaram pump house by drawing water from Yellampally reservoir with gravity to fill Mid Manair by using Flood Flow Canal.

“Our goal is to use every drop of Godavari water optimally,” Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said. He reviewed inflows, storage levels and pumping operations and insisted upon hourly monitoring and coordinated operation of projects to prevent any wastage of water.

The Minister strongly rejected claims that water pumped from Yellampally was “Kaleshwaram water”. He clarified that Sripada Yellampally was a Congress-era project conceived under the Pranahita Chevella project. The water currently entering Yellampally was natural Godavari flow and not lifted from the three Kaleshwaram barrages - Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla, he said.

He highlighted that landmark projects like SRSP (foundation laid by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1963), Kaddam (1959), Nagarjunasagar, Srisailam and the Flood Flow Canal — all built during Congress regimes — continue to serve the State reliably. In contrast, he said Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages constructed between 2016 and 2019 under the previous BRS Government, developed serious structural issues by 2023.

Rehab on expert advice

The Minister asserted there was no political motive in keeping the barrages under free-flow condition and the government was strictly following National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) and Central Water Commission (CWC) directives, which prohibit water storage until detailed investigations and repairs were completed.

A Central Technical Oversight Committee, constituted on June 30, was supervising the process. IIT Bombay and AFRY India were preparing the rehabilitation design and it was expected to be ready in 2–3 months. He explained that proposed measures include construction of a diaphragm wall and extension of the stilling basin to strengthen foundations.

Repairs would begin once designs were finalised, with efforts to restore the barrages before the next monsoon. Explaining why Kannepalli pumps were not being operated yet, the Minister said water lifted from there would need storage in Annaram and Sundilla first, both of which were under structural investigation.

He stated that experts had flagged serious defects in the secant pile foundation system, which deviated from the original Detailed Project Report.

The Minister accused BRS of running a misinformation campaign and trying to claim credit for water from the Congress-built Yellampally project. He pointed out that the previous government spent ₹1.81 lakh crore on irrigation but had created little new ayacut. Even Kaleshwaram failed to deliver stable irrigation to one-lakh acres, he alleged. Several other projects like Palamuru-Rangareddy and others remained incomplete, he said.

Published - August 02, 2026 12:27 am IST