NDSA Report On Medigadda Barrage Of Kaleshwaram Project Faults Design, Construction, Operation & Maintenance

Relevance: GS3 - Infrastructure, Disaster and disaster management.

(Source: The Hindu, 11/04/2023)

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Why in the news?

• Recently, a six-member team of the National Dam Safety Authority(NDSA) identified issues in planning, design, quality control and operation and maintenance as the reason for the damage to the Medigadda Barrage of the Kaleshwaram project.
• A small portion of the bridge of the barrage had caved in on October 21, 2023.

What is the accident that occurred at the Kaleshwaram Lift project?

• A small portion of the bridge of the Lakshmi (Medigadda) barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Telangana’s Jayashankar Bhupalpally district caved in on October 21st.
• Pillar no.20 of Block 7 of the barrage was reported to have sunk partially leading to the temporary closure of the bridge by authorities.
  • 6 out of 11 piers in Block-7 were also reported to have sunk and drifted.
• According to the Irrigation department, the basement of pillar number 22 of the barrage was slightly damaged.

What has the report of the NDSA stated?

• An expert committee from the NDSA visited the site on 23rd and 24th October and also met with the officials of the Irrigation Department.
• The committee released a 43 page report which cited issues in the planning, design, quality control and operation and maintenance of the project.

Findings

• Settlement of the barrage raft: This was identified as the primary reason for the failure with the piers which are a part of the monolith, also settling, moving and cracking.
• This could be due to piping, wherein transportation of foundation material has occurred, or inadequate bearing capacity of the foundation material (sand) and the failure of upstream secant piles as a result of barrage load.
• Construction deficiency: Construction deficiencies were observed in the project due to the absence of proper quality control mechanisms.
• Gaps in the secant pile formation during construction had made the barrier permeable leading to piping and progressive failure.
• Flawed implementation of design: The Lift Irrigation project was designed as a floating structure but was constructed as a rigid structure.
• This has resulted in the structure behavior changing from the original design.
• The construction methodology of the transverse cut-offs was also different from the original design.
• Pressure variations: As the downstream cut-off was taken up to the impermeable strata, the uplift pressure was altered due to blocking the sub-surface flow.
• Maintenance: The Irrigation Department was criticized for not conducting proper inspections or maintenance of the cement-concrete blocks or launching aprons since the barrage was commissioned in 2019-2020.
• This has progressively weakned the barrage leading to its failure and adversely affected the functionality of one block, which has been rendered useless until fully rehabilitated.
• Lack of information: Pre and post-monsoon inspections and various other data sought by the team were not provided by the Irrigation Department.
• Risk of other barrages: The two barrages constructed upstream of Medigadda under the Kaleshwaram project – Annaram and Sundilla barrages – have similar designs and construction methodologies, which makes them prone to similar damage

What has the Irrigation department said?

• The irrigation department had claimed that the damage to the piers in block 7 would not have any effect on the other blocks in the project.
• They rejected the argument that design and construction flaws in the project had laid to the failure.
  • Similar incidents at the Farakka and Dowlaiswaram barrages were also cited.
• Officials also stated that the river bed abutting the damaged block would have to be dewatered to conduct a detailed sub-surface investigation.
  • To do so, a coffer dam would have to built to prevent the water flow from reaching the area.
• The initial view of the damage was that it could have been caused by changes in the river morphology after the record levels of flood in 2022 which led to the deposition and consolidation of sand under the foundation of the pier.
• The restoration work could range from removal of the disturbed piers or the entire Block and constructing it afresh.
• They also claimed that if necessary water could be lifted for Rabi crops, as only 94 metres water level is sufficient for running pumps against the 100-meter FRL (full reservoir/barrage level) of Medigadda Barrage.

Difference between dam and barrage

Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation project

• The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation System is considered to be one of the world’s largest multi-purpose projects.
• It is the worlds largest Irrigation and Drinking Water System which was built at an estimated cost of ₹1.2 Lakh crores
• It is designed to provide water for irrigation and drinking purposes to about 45 lakh acres in 20 of the 31 districts in Telangana, apart from Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
• It is located on the Godavari River in Kaleshwaram, Bhupalpally, Telangana and is currently the world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation project.
• Its farthest upstream influence is at the confluence of the Pranhita and Godavari rivers.
• The total length of the project is around 1832 Km, of which the total length of gravity canals is 1,531Km.
• The project also consists of:
• 20 reservoirs interconnected through a network of tunnels.
• 20 water lifts
• 19 pumps
• Telangana will harness water at the confluence of the two rivers by constructing a barrage at Medigadda.
• Water would then be reverse pumped into the main Godavari River and diverted through lifts and pumps into a huge and complex system of reservoirs, water tunnels, pipelines and canals.
• By the time the water reaches the last reservoir in the system - Kondapochamma Sagar, the Godavari water would have been lifted to a height of 618 metres from its source at Medigadda.
• Objectives:
  • Produce a total of 240 TMC (195 from Medigadda Barrage, 20 from Sripada Yellampalli project and 25 from groundwater), of which 169 has been allocated for irrigation, 30 for Hyderabad municipal water, 16 for miscellaneous industrial uses and 10 for drinking water in nearby villages.
  • Increasing total culturable command area by 1,825,000 acre⋅ft across all 13 districts.

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FAQs

MCQs

Question: Consider the following rivers: (UPSC 2015)

1. Vamsadhara
2. Indravati
3. Pranahita
4. Pennar

Which of the above are tributaries of Godavari?

(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 2, 3 and 4

(c) 1, 2 and 4

(d) 2 and 3 only