Polavaram: The Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) team has expressed satisfaction over the progress of construction works at the Polavaram Irrigation Project. A high-level PPA delegation led by Chief Executive Officer Yogesh Paithankar visited the project site on Wednesday to review the ongoing works.
The team included Member Secretary M. Raghuram, Chief Engineers (Power) C.V. Subbaiah and M. Ramesh Kumar (P&D), and Director K. Shankar, among others. They were briefed on the project progress by Engineer-in-Chief of the Water Resources Department K. Narasimha Murthy and Chief Operating Officer of MEIL A.N.V. Satish Babu.
The PPA team arrived at the Polavaram Project site at around 11.00 am and conducted an extensive inspection of various components of the project until 2.30 pm. As this was Mr. Paithankar’s first site visit after assuming charge as CEO, he personally inspected all major structures, reviewed their progress in detail, sought clarifications, and addressed his queries with officials concerned.
The CEO also inspected the Polavaram Hydroelectric Power Project, which is being executed by Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL). The construction progress of the hydropower station was explained to the PPA team by MEIL COO Satish Babu.
Several senior officials from the Quality Control and Engineering wings participated in the inspection and provided detailed briefings. These included Quality Control Chief Engineer K. Sheshubabu, Superintending Engineer K. Ramachandra Rao, Quality Control SE Tirumala Rao, Executive Engineer K. Balakrishna, General Manager A. Gangadhar, Deputy General Manager Murali Pammi, Quality Control Executive Engineers Narasimha Rao and Prem Chand, Deputy Engineers Nirmala, Srikanth and Vijay Kumar, and Quality Control Deputy Engineer Shivaprasad, among others. Prior to the site inspection, the PPA team also participated in a review meeting.
During the visit, the PPA delegation inspected key components including the spillway, diaphragm wall, Gap-1 and Gap-2, upstream and downstream cofferdams, and the hydropower station. Officials from the Water Resources Department and MEIL explained the timelines set for completion of each component.
They informed the PPA team that works are being executed in accordance with the targets fixed by the Central Water Resources Ministry, the Polavaram Project Authority, and the State Government. Officials stated that detailed planning is underway to ensure completion of the project by 2027, in line with the government’s objective to complete the project before the commencement of the Godavari Pushkarams.
Emphasising the importance of the project, Mr. Yogesh Paithankar stated that the Central Government is giving high priority to the Polavaram Project and instructed officials and executing agencies to ensure timely completion without any delays, strictly adhering to the approved schedules and action plans.
