Union government still unsure about Polavaram cofferdam construction
By Express News Service | Published: 25th December 2017 02:45 AM |
Last Updated: 25th December 2017 07:53 AM | A+A A- |
RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM/VIJAYAWADA: Uncertainty over the construction of the cofferdam of the prestigious Polavaram Project continues with the Union Water Resources Ministry yet to take a call on the issue. Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari’s technical advisor Sanjay Kholapurkar, who visited the project site ahead of the minister, sounded non-committal. “Works will commence if the Union government finds the need to build a cofferdam,” he said in a cautious statement on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for New Delhi, Kholapurkar spoke of his visit to the project site the previous day. “It (cofferdam) is a technical subject. A technical team has inspected and given a report. If (we find that) the cofferdam is needed, its work will be taken up. A decision will be taken soon,” he explained.
Kholapurkar’s statement came amid reports that he was opposed to the construction of the cofferdam. Unconfirmed reports suggested that he was against the cofferdam on the Godavari and was, in fact, quoted as saying that had he known about the proposal to construct it, he would have opposed it on day one itself.
Engineer-in-Chief of the State Water Resources Department M Venkateswara Rao on Sunday, denied the reports. “The Technical Advisor did not state that cofferdam was not necessary.
In the conversations we had, he indeed said cofferdam is necessary,” he claimed. However, in the same breath, he said the Union Water Resources Department’s representatives had suggested that the option of building the dam without a cofferdam could be explored and also if the cofferdam can be integrated with the main dam. “Integrating the cofferdam means building the cofferdam first and then raising the height of the dam accordingly. There are technical issues. In projects of this magnitude, we should not experiment,” the ENC added.
Gadkari visit deferred
The visit of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to the Polavaram project site has been deferred for the third time. He was scheduled to visit the site on December 26.
