Amaravati: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy held a review meeting on the progress of the Polavaram project and instructed the officials to expedite the works and complete the cofferdam by May end.

Expedite Polavaram works

The Chief Minister reviewed the progress of key works like Spillway, Approach Channel, Upstream Coffer Dam, ECRF Dam, Gate Alignment among others of the Polavaram project at his camp office here on Monday. It was discussed in the meeting that the construction work of Polavaram was hampered due to the mistakes of the previous government as the construction of the cofferdam was started before the works of the spillway were completed. It was mentioned that the works were executed partially but not in a proper manner. The officials said the flood water reached at a speed of about 13 meters per second during the floods due to gaps in the cofferdam constructed by the previous government which led to large-scale cuts in Gap1 and Gap2 at the ECRF dam and as a result, the works of the spill channel were severely disrupted during the floods. They said special focus is being laid on all such works.
The Officials said the works of the spillway are completed and the works of fixation of gates and cylinders are on at a brisk pace. The Chief Minister instructed the officials to expedite the works of the spill channel and approach the channel and in the meantime, to complete the pending works of the cofferdam so that the floodwater could flow over the spillway. The officials assured that the construction of the cofferdam would be completed by end of May. The Chief Minister also reviewed the progress of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement works of the Polavaram project.

No height reduction Condemning the reports on the reduction of the height of the project in a section of media, the officials said there was no chance of reducing the height of the dam and mentioned that CWC (Central Water Commission) also said the same. They said the fixation of shutters as per the specified height is being completed.

Rivers interlinking

Reviewing Interlinking of rivers, the Chief Minister said to prepare proposals on interlinking of rivers and they should be in the interest of the state. He said the proposals should be categorical and free from ambiguity in the interest of the State and would be sent to the Centre

YSR Gardens

The Officials briefed the Chief Minister on the master plan of YSR Gardens to be constructed at Polavaram. The Statue of former Chief Minister YS Rajashekar Reddy will be installed on the G-hill site at Polavaram. The Chief Minister said the designs of YSR Gardens should be such that the beauty and pleasantness should increase with time and without any hassle to the environment. He said the gardens should be designed for low maintenance costs. The Chief Minister responded positively to the proposals to construct a bridge downstream of the Polavaram project and a road connecting the G-hill site with the bridge.

Chief Secretary Adityanath Das, Water Resources Secretary J Syamala Rao, ENC C Narayana Reddy, and other officials were present.