Fact-finding panel on damage of checkdams seeks early completion of probe, action against culprits

HYDERABAD

A fact-finding committee comprising retired engineers, professors and others, which visited Tanugula and Adavi Somanpally checkdams following their damage in the alleged blasts, has demanded that the police take stern action against those responsible for the damage after completing their inquiry at the earliest.

The committee said in its report that excessive sand mining would also damage the checkdams. The stay on sand mining in the Manair river imposed by the National Green Tribunal was vacated by the State Government by appealing against the tribunal order in the Supreme Court.

They further requested the police department to complete the investigation into the complaints on blasts at Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram project, Hussainmia checkdam and the recent incidents of Tanugula and Adavi Somanpally checkdams. They also appealed to Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy to restore the last two checkdams before the rainy season to bring them back into use.

The fact-finding committee comprising Prof. Seetarama Rao, Prof. Raghava Reddy, V. Prakash, Damodar Reddy, Sridhar Rao Deshpande, Pittala Ravinder and others visited Tanugula checkdam site in Jammikunta mandal of Karimnagar district that was allegedly blasted on the night of November 21. About 90 meters of the 737 meters checkdam was damaged in the blast causing a loss of ₹3.5 crore.

The check dam constructed with ₹23 crore was irrigating 1,000 acres in Tanugula, Gumpula and Shambhunipally village and rejuvenating/recharging the borewells in a 5-km radius to ensure farmers irrigate two crops a year. The checkdam structure withstood 66,000 cusecs of flood released from Lower Manair Dam during the flood season this year, the committee explained.

The team visited the Adavi Somanpally checkdam, which was blasted on December 17, on December 20 and found the debris still lying on the checkdam structure as it was in case of Tanugula and it was possible only in case of a blast and washing away would generally carry the debris downstream.