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Congress govt’s inefficiency delays water supply from Sunkishala project 

Revanth Reddy government’s inefficiency and hasty decision to expedite the Sunkishala project’s minor pending works resulted in significant financial losses and delayed water supply to Hyderabad by at least one year. Following the completion of pipeline works from Sunkishala to Kodandapuram in Nalgonda district, a trial run was planned to commence in two months, however, due to the Congress government’s failure the pump house got submerged.

The BRS government initiated the Sunkishala project with an outlay of Rs. 2,00 crore to supply drinking water from the Nagarjuna Sagar project dead storage to the twin cities. The plan involves supplying water directly from Nagarjuna Sagar to the Kodandapuram plant through three separate pipelines, bypassing the Alimineti Madhava Reddy Project. 

Three tunnels were excavated to draw water from the Sagar backwaters at different levels. A gate was installed in the central tunnel, and a retaining wall was built for protection. However, when the tunnel inlet was opened, the surge of water caused the collapse of both the tunnel gate and the protective wall. The pump house operations were halted for a week, with the situation kept under wraps. Despite efforts by authorities to implement alternative solutions, no viable options have been found.

On Wednesday, senior officials from the Water Board, including the CGM, DM, and DGM, inspected the incident site and held discussions at the Kodandapuram guest house to determine the causes of the accident. With the current state of the pump house, water supply is no longer feasible, and additional work will need to be carried out at the tunnel’s upper levels.