Vijayawada: The Water Resources department has begun an inquiry into the reasons for seepage of Godavari floodwater from the upper cofferdam of Polavaram irrigation project in Eluru district. The probe is being done on the basis of recommendations of the international experts committee that recently visited the project site.Officials said it was very important to identify a dry area for construction of the diaphragm wall and the earth-cum-rock-fill dam on top of it, this being the main dam of the Polavaram project.“We are trying to stop seepage of water from both the cofferdams located upstream and downstream of the river, with the diaphragm wall and the ECRF coming up in between the two cofferdams,” they said.The authorities have dug up nearly 17 holes along the upper cofferdam and are going to fix piezo meters in five to six holes to gauge the pressure, the depth of the water etc. Once they identify the reasons for the seepage, this would help prepare designs to further strengthen the cofferdam and check the problem of water seepage. This would help construction of the proposed D-wall across the river, officials said.The authorities are also facing seepage issue from the lower cofferdam downstream of the river mainly due to the backwaters. They do an investigation to identify the reasons for seepage and address it.Polavaram project chief engineer in-charge Narasimha Murthy said, “The panel of international experts has recommended some steps to identify the reasons for seepage from the upper cofferdam, so that designs will be developed accordingly. We are expecting the interim report from the committee by the end of July.”The four-member experts panel that inspected the project and took stock of the damaged components like upper and lower cofferdams, the D-wall and other components and held discussions with experts from the Polavaram Project Authority, the Central Water Commission and other stakeholder agencies. Following this, they gave the interim report on how to overcome the crisis.As the TD led government is committed to expedite the project execution, a series of studies are going on to expedite the works and complete the project at the earliest. This would benefit cultivation of crops in large tracts of land and supply of water for drinking in erstwhile Godavari districts and also for industrial needs in Visakhapatnam.The authorities have ruled out any hurdle to continue their works at Polavaram project even as Godavari’s water level is rising following the heavy rainfall in its upper catchment areas.
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