Hyderabad: Welfare Minister Adluri Lakshman Kumar on Saturday called for a comprehensive Kaleshwaram technical assessment to examine the project’s long-term safety and structural stability. He said structural problems at the Medigadda Barrage had raised doubts that required scientific and technical scrutiny.
Speaking to the media, Lakshman Kumar said authorities could not treat the Medigadda problems as an isolated barrage issue. Instead, he said the damage raised questions about the safety, construction quality and accountability of the entire Kaleshwaram project.
The Minister said public money had funded the project. Therefore, the government and technical experts had to determine why the damage occurred and where construction deficiencies arose.
He also said people had a right to know what measures could prevent similar problems in future.
Kaleshwaram technical assessment after concrete tests
Lakshman Kumar said concrete quality tests on Block 7 of Medigadda Barrage had strengthened the case for a Kaleshwaram technical assessment. He said the tests had reportedly shown adverse results in several piers.
Block 7 suffered subsidence in 2023. After that incident, officials conducted concrete quality tests on Piers 16 to 21 in the block. According to the Minister, Pier 19 recorded adverse results of 73.3 per cent.
Pier 18 recorded 65.5 per cent, while Pier 20 recorded 61.1 per cent. Similarly, Pier 17 showed adverse results of 50.5 per cent. Pier 21 recorded 49.9 per cent, while Pier 16 recorded 41.3 per cent.
Lakshman Kumar said authorities could not dismiss the figures as mere statistics. He noted that the piers formed critical structural components because they supported the barrage gates.
Therefore, he said experts had to examine what the findings meant for the barrage’s integrity and safety.
“These figures cannot be dismissed as mere statistics. They concern critical structural components, the piers that support the barrage gates,” he said. He added that experts needed to examine their implications through a comprehensive technical review.
Kaleshwaram technical assessment to scrutinise test findings
The Minister said investigators had used ultrasonic pulse velocity tests and rebound hammer tests as part of the technical examination. He said these tests helped experts assess the internal strength and uniformity of concrete.
The investigations also aimed to identify cracks, voids and other defects in the structure. Therefore, Lakshman Kumar said experts had to analyse all test findings together instead of considering each result separately.
He also called for detailed scrutiny of every relevant aspect of the affected structure. According to him, the reported concrete test results had raised concerns that required a scientific assessment rather than a limited examination.
“Kaleshwaram is an asset of the people of Telangana. Why did a project built with public money suffer damage?” he asked. He also questioned where construction deficiencies had occurred and what corrective measures authorities needed to take.
“What measures are required to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future? The people are entitled to know the facts,” he said.
Government rejects political vendetta charge
Lakshman Kumar said the government’s approach centred on public expenditure, engineering safety and accountability. He rejected the suggestion that political hostility towards the previous government had driven the scrutiny.
The Minister said the government did not criticise the Kaleshwaram project merely because the previous administration had constructed it. Instead, he said the government wanted to determine why a publicly funded project suffered damage.
It also wanted to identify where responsibility lay and what steps could prevent a recurrence. “The government is looking at the issue from the perspective of why a project built with public money suffered damage,” he said.
He added that the examination also needed to establish responsibility and identify measures to prevent similar incidents. Lakshman Kumar maintained that a comprehensive scientific and technical review remained essential before authorities could resolve doubts over the project’s long-term safety.
He said the reported Medigadda findings required scrutiny of all relevant technical and structural aspects of Kaleshwaram. The Minister said a Kaleshwaram technical assessment would help establish the facts surrounding the reported defects and their implications for the project.