MEIL completes work on 52 Polavaram spillway pillars

VIJAYAWADA: Works related to the erection of spillway pillars of Polavaram Irrigation Project (PIP), said to be the most important part of the project, finished on Thursday with 52 pillars reaching a height of 52 metres. The contracting agency, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), is also in the process of completing the gates, bridge and slab works on the spillway.

According to MEIL general manager Satish Babu Angara, “The construction of 52 pillars, each 52 metres high, on the spillway has been completed. We faced many obstacles such as heavy rains, floods and Covid-19 pandemic last year, but are working to complete the project within the time frame set by the Andhra Pradesh government.” The delay in finalisation of design of a fish ladder, installed at the second pillar to enable the movement and habitation of ‘pulasa’ fish, led to the delay in the completion of works, according to information. 

The fish ladder gate, designed keeping ‘fish physiology and behaviour’ in mind, is about 252 metres in length and has four vents at various levels of the spillway so that the fish could move freely even if water levels keep changing. The Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) helped design the ladder, officials said.

For the record, MEIL began spillway concrete works on November 21, 2019. The total spillway slab length is 1,128 metres, out of which works on 1,095 metres have been completed. On the spillway, 188 out of the 192 girders have been established till date. 

On the spillway bridge, 45 slabs have been laid and the remaining 3 slabs are nearing completion. A total of 49 trunnion beams have been installed. Out of the 48 gates on the spillway bridge, 28 gates have been fixed and the remaining will be installed by April. “Soon a platform will be built to set up cylinders and power pack to these gates,” the officials said.

Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation) C Narayana Reddy also visited the project site on Thursday and took stock of the status of various components of the project.