Cyclone Montha floods Veligonda project, restoration work is underway

The devastating Cyclone Montha tested the resilience of the Pula Subbaiah Veligonda project last month when unprecedented floods breached the feeder canal in the Nallamala forest region and inundated its two main tunnels.

According to official reports, the cyclone that hit the Dornal-Rollapenta belt on October 28 and 29 caused torrential rains that sent nearly 24,000 cusecs of water from the Y. Cherlopalli tank catchment area into the Teegaleru Vagu, along with another 3,800 cusecs from the Dongalavagu. The combined tributaries breached the feeder channel's right embankment at kilometer 0.850, leaving a gash 100 feet long and 30 feet deep while adjacent farmland was washed away. Around 50,000 cubic meters of mud and debris piled up along a 250-meter-long stretch, forcing floodwaters back into the project's two tunnels.

Both Tunnel I and Tunnel II were flooded for nearly 10 kilometers, with water levels exceeding 250 meters and an estimated 36.23 million cubic feet entering the shafts. Although the canal burst caused significant damage, the rapid intervention of engineers and rescue workers prevented the loss of life. “Around 250 workers employed in Tunnel II were safely evacuated through Kollam Vagu route and taken to Srisailam dam by boats,” officials said.

The government has ordered authorities to speed up drainage work as flooding extended nearly 9 km into the tunnels. The engineering team has also been asked to release revised designs for new concrete retaining walls to protect the canal from future flooding. In addition, a technical committee was formed to recover the tunnel boring machine trapped in Tunnel II, where 4.2 km of lining and embankment work still remains.

Restoration work is underway. Five excavators are used for large-scale desludging, while two high-performance pumps continue to drain the tunnels. Authorities expect the drainage to be completed by November 15. The lining work will then resume.

It may be recalled that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had laid the foundation stone for the project nearly three decades ago during his tenure as chief minister of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. However, rehabilitation and compensation issues remain unresolved. Of the seven proposed colonies, only four have been completed so far.

To expedite progress, the state government has floated tenders for canal lining work and construction of a 3 km long retaining wall worth ₹456 crore. The project is now scheduled to be completed by 2026.