Veligonda Project
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Coordinates | 15°46′06″N 79°10′50″E / 15.76833°N 79.18056°E |
| Route | Guntur-Kurnool Highway |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | May 2005 |
| Technical | |
| Length | 18.8 kilometres (11.7 mi) Two tunnels of 9.2 m and 7 m diameter |
Veligonda Project is an under construction irrigation project located in Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, India.[1] When completed, the project will provide irrigational facilities to 459,000 Acres and drinking water to 1.5 million people in 29 Mandals of fluorine and drought affected areas in Prakasam district, Nellore district and Kadapa district by diverting 43.5 TMC of floodwater of Krishna River from foreshore of Srisailam Reservoir near Kollamvagu and proposed to store in Nallamalasagar Reservoir. The water for the project is drawn through two 18.8 km long tunnels across Nallamala hills. The project has been renamed to Poola Subbaiah irrigation project.[2][3]
The construction includes two parallel tunnels of 18.8 km with 9.2 m and 7 m internal diameter and 21.6 km Flood flow canal for the water transmission system linking with Srisailam Reservoir up to Guntur-Kurnool road. The project is being implemented by double shielded tunnel boring machine to make the tunnel without disturbing wildlife in the Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve.[4]
Status of progress of the project
- As of May 2015, 12.6 km of tunnel digging had been completed for the first tunnel, and 8.1 km had been completed for the second tunnel.
- As of June 2016, 13.1 km of tunnel digging had been completed for the first tunnel, and 10 km had been completed for the second tunnel.
- Only a little progress has been made in the past few years by contractors citing the equipment problems and payment issues with government.
- First phase of the project to be completed by September 2016.[5]
Expected completion
As per the first estimation by the contractors and engineers the project was scheduled to complete by 2012 and it has missed several deadlines. However, the date of completion for the first phase has been set back by eighteen months to September 2016.[6]
References
- ^ "Andhra Pradesh / Ongole News : Project details". Irrigation dept, Govt. of A.P.
- ^ "Andhra Pradesh / `Velugonda' to be named after Poola Subbaiah". The Hindu. 2005-08-01.
- ^ "The Hindu: Work on Veligonda project resumes". TheHindu.com. 2013-03-25.
- ^ "Double Shield bores Water Transfer Tunnel beneath Indian Tiger Sanctuary".
- ^ "1st Phase is expected to be complete by September 2016". thehansindia.com. 15 May 2015.
- ^ "1st Phase is expected to be complete by September 2016". The Hindu.
15°46′06″N 79°10′50″E / 15.76833°N 79.18056°E
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