Pulichintala

It was four years ago to the day that Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy laid the foundation for K.L. Rao Sagar (Pulichintala Multipurpose Project) at Madipadu in Guntur district amid high expectations about completing the project on schedule, by September 2007. But as things stand today, it might be commissioned in December 2009.

The Srinivasa Engineering Company and CR18G, the joint venture company, could do no work in the first two years. Then, several points of clarification on the project and determining the number of sluice gates to be constructed put it far behind the schedule. Looking at the project on Wednesday, Project Superintendent Engineer S. Satyanarayana expressed hope that water can be definitely impounded in the coming season at 36.36 metres level of the dam amounting to more than 3 tmcft.

Due to the initial slow pace of work despite several measures taken up by the then Superintending Engineer Bapuji, only 30,000 cubic meters of concreting could be completed by the time the SE left the project. Now the total quantum of concreting completed with foundation level crossed, comes to 2.58 lakh cubic meters.

Currently, water is flowing over the concrete portion of the project and the earliest full-fledged work that can be taken up on all portions of the project will be from November 2008 and the extended deadline expires in December 2008. “Another year of time extension will be required if the contractors get on the job fast and expedite execution,” the Superintending Engineer told The Hindu on Wednesday.

Out of 10,000 metric tonnes of steel needed for the Radial Gates (sluice gates) only 3,000 metric tonnes had arrived and the main fin plates needed for the 18.5 m X 17 m main radial gates had to be brought and fabricated. Immediate necessity was eight numbers of reverse sluice gates and those have been fabricated.

About 1,000 cubic meters of concreting would be attempted from first week of November.