Engineering Revival: CWPRS to Design Barrage Rehabilitation

The Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, has been entrusted with preparing the rehabilitation design for the Medigadda and Annaram barrages, following recommendations by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA).

In its report submitted on April 30, 2025, the NDSA outlined a detailed roadmap to restore the operational integrity of both barrages and stressed the involvement of premier research institutions. With approval from the Irrigation Chief Engineer, Ramagundam, CWPRS has now officially taken up the task.

A team of CWPRS experts, along with field engineers, conducted on-site inspections at both locations on July 23 and 24. They assessed the structural components and identified locations for core sampling. The team plans to use 3D stress analysis via the finite element method to evaluate the barrages’ structural soundness.

The Superintending Engineer, Ramagundam, has requested CWPRS to submit detailed rehabilitation designs, covering all relevant load combinations—including gate, thrust, hydrostatic, dead, live, wind, and seismic loads. Additionally, the Chief Engineer of the Central Designs Organisation, Hyderabad, has been asked to share original design documents for reference and analysis.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.