Proposal to set up special control rooms in Medigadda and Annaram pumphouses

At least three of the 12 motors of the Annaram pumphouse have been revived after their submergence due to July floods .File photo

The State government is reportedly mulling setting up special control rooms at the Medigadda (Kannepally) and Annaram (Kasipeta) pump houses of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Mahadevpur mandal of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district to effectively tackle unprecedented flood events in the future.

According to sources, a proposal to this effect has been mooted for further bolstering the flood protection mechanism at the two vital pumphouses, which form the crux of the KLIP, an ambitious lift scheme aimed at optimally harnessing the flood waters of the Godavari for augmenting irrigation.

The special control rooms are expected to be set up at an appropriate height above mean sea level (MSL) in the two pumphouses.

It assumes significance in the wake of the devastation caused by the unpreceded flood in the Godavari in July this year submerging the two pumphouses.

On July 15, the two pumpHouses were flooded after the water exceeded the peak flood level at Medigadda barrage near Kaleshwaram following record flood in the Godavari.

Rebutting the Opposition parties’ allegations of “lapses”, the persons at the helm in the State attributed the submergence of the two pumphouses to a natural calamity of unprecedented scale (highest flood in 500 years).

The contract agency concerned carried out the repair works including the mega dewatering exercise that lasted for several weeks before the motors were retrieved, sources said.

At least three motors of the total 12 motors of the Annaram pump house have been revived. The remaining motors are expected to become fully operational soon, sources added.

The KLIP officials concerned were not available for their comments.