KRISHNA DISTRICT: Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister P Anil Kumar Yadav on Thursday inspected the site where the gate was broken due to a technical problem at Gate No. 16 of the Pulichinthala project. He conducted a survey and spoke to the authorities about the details of the incident. The Minister directed the project officials to take immediate steps to complete the gate repairs on a war footing and also alert people living in the lower areas of the stream to avoid any causalities. He said that a committee comprising of irrigation experts was being set up to ascertain the possible causes of the accident.

Minister Anil Kumar Yadav while speaking to the media said that authorities were carrying out immediate repairs in the area where the gate was broken. Experts from the Polavaram project are also coming here to check for any other issues. Officials expect that the repairs would be completed by tomorrow evening.

Explaining the cause of the incident he said that the hydraulic girder broke when the gates were lifted to let out excess floodwaters. He said that the project engineers and teams of engineering experts have examined the gates. The Minister stated that 6 lakh cusecs of water were discharged downstream and into the sea under these conditions.

He stated that water needed to be released from the bottom in order to put stop lock gates. " It is possible to install a stop lock gate than replacing the broken gate. Trouble is likely to ensue if the water level is too high again when unloading the stop lock gate. We will let down five lakh to six lakh cusecs of water if necessary and project officers have also been prepared for this," he stated.

We will discuss this with a team of irrigation experts and make a decision. The repairs are expected to be completed by tomorrow evening when the water level drops to ten TMCs. Officials say that the damage was done in ten to fifteen seconds. We will set up an expert committee on how this incident took place who will submit their report, Anil Kumar Yadav said.

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