Mega concrete pour at Medigadda

Kaleshwaram Project Chief Engineer N Venkateshwarlu told 'Telangana Today' that there would be another 10,000 cubic metres of the concrete pour from 8 am on Saturday to 8 am on Sunday.

Hyderabad: The mega concrete pour at Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), which turned out to be a continuing saga, has set an all time record. Commenced at 8 am on December 22, the men and machines that have been engaged in exercise continued to work in shifts. The Kaleshwaram Project Chief Engineer N Venkateswarlu informed Telangana Today that 90,055 cubic metres of Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) was laid on the Medigadda barrage spill way and its piers. One more day of work would take it to one lakh cubic metres, which is a record in itself.

 

He said 16,722 cubic metres of concrete pour was done on the first day. On an average, about 7,000-8,000 cubic metres of concrete pour was being done every day. He explained that over lakh cubic metres of concrete pour was yet to be done on the barrage, one of the six important works need to be completed by March 2019 to commission the project for giving water to the ayacut from next kharif. As desired by the Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao implementation of the project works has been put on fast track. Undeterred by the cold wave sweeping across the State, men and machines have been carrying out their work even under flood lights.

Referring to a similar exercise taken up by the AP irrigation authorities at Polavarm project eying entry into Guinness Book of World Records, he said they could be aiming at record for maximum concrete pour in 24 hours. At Kaleshwaram, it will be a continuous process till the remaining four lakh cubic metres of concrete pour was completed. It may take less than a month to complete the concrete work. “We are also awaiting observers of the Guinness Book of World Records. With a deployment of 5000 men and engineers on the work site, we have ample scope to break every record in the concrete laying history,” he asserted.

A total of 4,825 engineers and workers toiled for 72 hours to create a world record in non-stop concrete pouring at the Medigadda barrage, a key component of the prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) that is expected to change the landscape of Telangana State.

Project Chief Engineer N Venkateswarlu told Telangana Today on Tuesday that 25,583 cubic metres of Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) was poured continuously to construct the spillway and piers at the Medigadda barrage, starting 8 am on Saturday and ending at 8 am on Tuesday. Medigadda barrage is one of the three key structures being constructed as part of the KLIS to lift 2 tmc of water a day from the Godavari river.

 

 The previous record was held by a Dubai-based engineering company which completed 21,580 cubic metres of concrete pour over a period of 35 hours and 19 minutes for a raft foundation laid for a residential complex from May 18 to 20 in 2017. The Kaleshwaram project authorities who were successful in breaking this record, however, should be a disappointed lot since they had not alerted the officials of the Guinness Book of World Records to document the event. But, they are confident of getting into the record books with yet another attempt at mega concrete pouring in the near future.

The Medigadda barrage, coming up with 85 crest gates and 16.17 tmc of water storage, will support an integrated irrigation system intended to extend irrigation to 18,50,000 acres of new ayacut and stabilizing almost the same extent of existing ayacut under Sriramsagar and other irrigation projects. The mega effort, an unplanned event, was spurred by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who after a marathon review meeting with irrigation department officials last week, directed them to step up the pace of works in various irrigation projects across the State. As desired by him, the pace of works was stepped up in different packages of KLIS simultaneously.

The concrete laying that started routinely on the spillway and piers of the Medigadda barrage at 8 am on Saturday achieved 16,722 cubic metres by 8 am on Sunday, which in itself was considered as the second highest work turnout in concrete laying. Another 4,745 cubic metre of concrete was laid on the second day and 4,177 cubic metres on the third day ending at 8 am on Tuesday. The network turnout was 21,100 cubic metres in 42 hours, 22,666 cubic metres in 62 hours and 25,583 cubic metres in 72 hours.

The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for Medigadda barrage on May 2, 2016. The barrage, as well as the pump houses, would be ready by March 2019. The State government is keen on giving water from the lift irrigation scheme to the ayacut from the next Kharif season.