(Feature Image: Sand boats hit Prakasam Barrage gate no 69 while irrigation officials release 11.24 lakhs cusecs of flood water in Vijayawada on Monday (Sept. 02, 2024). Image Source: Deccan Chronicle)
Amid the unprecedented flood spell in Krishna river passing through the Prakasam barrage located in Vijaywada city of NTR district in Andhra Pradesh, an incident of ‘sand boats’ getting stuck and damaging the barrage in early morning of Sep. 2, 2024, has been reported. The number of boats varied from three to five. The incident became a cause of worry for the structural safety of the barrage.
The New Indian Express report mentioned above reported, quoting irrigation officials that all 70 gates of the barrage were lifted at 2200 hours on Sept. 2, 2024, passing 11.03 lakhs cusecs of water, highest in 70 year history of the barrage. The report stated: “Previously, the Krishna River saw historic floods from October 2 to 13, 2009, when the maximum inflow recorded at Prakasam Barrage was 11,10,404 cusecs at 11 pm on October 5.”
As per CWC flood hydrograph for Praksham Barrage, the peak inflow into the barrage on Sept. 2, 2024 was 11.36 lakh cusecs at 18:00 hours. The peak water level was 21.19 meter between 1100 and 1500 hours, against FRL of 17.39 m and Maximum Water Level of 18.3 meter. Peak outflow was 10.91 lakh cusecs at 06:00 hours on Sept 3, 2024. The Highest Flood Level is not mentioned, but it is stated that it was attained on Oct 7, 2003.
As per the The Times of India report the three boats got washed away from the upstream areas and hit the gates at a speed of about 40 km/hour, damaging the horizontal concrete columns that hold the counterweight of the flood gates at gate no. 69. Without revealing whether these boats were being used to transport sand, the report mentioned that the irrigation officials were assessing the extent of the damage and the threat it posed to the barrage and that the repair works will be undertaken after consulting a team of experts. The report also claimed that a similar incident had taken place in 2021 in which one of the gates of barrage was damaged and had to be replaced. We could not find any media report about the 2021 incident.
However, this video report by the Times of India showing live the ground situation claimed that the four sand boats collided with the crest gates at pillar number 69 of the barrage and one of the boats capsized and became wedged between two pillars. The visuals in the video showed some rubber or hose pipe like objects hanging out from the boats which are usually fitted in barges to extract sand from the rivers. Towards the end the same report stated that of stuck boats three were fishing boats.
The Hindustan Times reported: “In an unprecedented situation in the history of 170-year-old Prakasam barrage on Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada, the state irrigation department authorities on Monday (Sept. 02) released 11.8 lakh cusecs of water from the barrage” by opening all the 70 gates to the maximum extent. It stated that while the officials were struggling to discharge an unprecedented flow into the Krishna River, three heavy sand-laden boats were swept away by the gushing floodwaters, colliding with the Prakasam barrage, causing significant damage to a pillar. Quoting Water Resources Department (WRD) Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu, the report further read “One of the boats became stuck after striking gate number. 69, forcing its closure. Officials immediately responded, working tirelessly to clear the vessels that were lodged against the barrage. There is no threat to the barrage, and it will be repaired soon after the floods recede,” the minister said.
The Hindu report “Boats swept away in floods crash into Prakasam Barrage gate, denting a pillar’ headline stated that the traditional wooden boats used for tourism and ferrying passengers were five in numbers and the irrigation officials were discharging about 11.25 lakh cusec of flood water by lifting all 70 gates of the barrage when the boats hit Gate No. 69 and got stuck there. “The irrigation officials said the pillar and its base were damaged due to increased water pressure at the gate caused by the boat blockage…Irrigation authorities, who were alert, are trying to clear the boats. While one boat was washed away in the flood, the other four are still stuck at the pillar”, read the report.
According to the Deccan Chronicle, the irrigation department was discharging about 11.36 lakh cusecs of water when the five sand boats stuck up at the barrage and the officials were trying to figure out any impact to the barrage following the incident. Another report by the Deccan Chronicle filed by Krishna Kumara late in the evening stated the discharge from the barrage went up to 11.4 lakh cusec and the sticking of boat at the barrage had led to closure of traffic through the barrage for 24 hours.
Suspecting a conspiracy behind the incident, the Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu said that fortunately the three large boats did not strike at the critical places, otherwise it could have been dangerous situation as reported by the Federal, sourcing the story from PTI.
In follow-up, The Hindu mentioned that one of the five boats were washed away, three were visible between 67, 68 and 69 gates and one was seen lying beneath the gates obstructing the flood flows. As per the report, while blaming previous government for neglecting maintenance of the barrage, the WRD Minister stated that there was no impending danger to the barrage and government would ensure that such incidents do not recur in future.
State government Advisor Kannaiah Naidu who recently fixed the damaged 19th gate of Tungabhadra dam also visited the Prakasam barrage and stated that the counterweight of the gate broke in the incident and new boxes were designed to take up the repair work. As per him, measures were being taken to close the gate even if the counterweight was not there and the counterweight would be in place by the time the gate was lifted next time.
He further said that only one gate was damaged, and the remaining gates can be operated as usual. However, the WRD officials felt that the damaged gate would pose a threat if it was not repaired immediately. Again, the report claimed that last year (2023) a boat got stuck in a gate for 10 days, and the WRD officials had to work tirelessly to remove it. (We could not find any media report on the same either).
The Times of India in a follow-up report stated that during two-hour long inspection of the barrage, Kannaiah Naidu personally assessed the functionality of the gates’ operating mechanism and discovered minor damages to two crest gates. As per him the barrage was structurally sound and repairs to the damaged gates could commence once the flood waters decreased to below 5 lakh cusecs. He also instructed the officials to deploy expert swimmers to remove the boats entangled in the gates. As per the former WRD minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, the government was bringing in expert swimmers from Kakinada to remove the boats.
2019 Incident
In a similar incident in the last week of August 2019, a huge metal boat weighing around 20 tons got stuck in a critical position in the gate number 68 of the Prakasam barrage posing a safety threat to its structure. The Hindu report mentioned that multiple attempts going on for 10 days failed to salvage the boat following which the WRD officials called in experts from other parts of state and even from Karnataka. Efforts using cranes and ropes to retrieve the boat put in by men from state, Polavaram and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams yielded no result. As the gate could not be closed, it led to huge water loss from the barrage.
The Times of Report claimed that it was on the 6th day when special teams of NDRF, Irrigation Department comprising 40 members finally removed the stuck iron boat. At that time too, Mohammed Imtiaz, District Collector (DC), who monitored the operation, had stated that the boat was used to transport sand. Similarly, the revenue department had suspected that the boats belonged to illegal sand miners after which an inquiry was reportedly initiated about the owner of the boat. No information is available about the inquiry report.
As per Deccan Chronicle report, during the boat removal operation an elderly fisherman was washed away in the Krishna river after officials lifted five crest gates of the barrage, to dislodge the boat. As the focus of officials was on WRD minister and DC, they failed to notice the fisherman. By the time, NDRF managed to trace him, the fisherman had died.
Violation of Sand Mining Rules In addition to posing safety threats to Prakasam barrage and downstream people, these incidents suggest that the sand mining rules are being clearly violated in the Andhra Pradesh. About 150 trucks involved in sand mining at Chevitikallu village in Nandigama mandal were struck in flashflood in Krishna river on August 14, 2021 and the administration had to rescue about 132 drivers and sand workers.
The flashflood was caused by sudden release of around 80,000 cusecs waters from upstream Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala dam projects. It is only after a week of the incident that the state government suspended sand mining in Krishna when the river was still in flood. The MoEF and various court orders have prohibited sand mining activities during monsoon season. Only last month, the MoEF has reiterated ban on sand mining in rivers during monsoon months.
As yet there is no statement from the government if an independent inquiry will be conducted to understand where did the five boats came from the upstream of Prakasham barrage, whom they belonged to and if they were indeed involved in illegal sand mining. There are no inquiry reports in public domain about the earlier incidents mentioned above. Such an independent inquiry is required considering the seriousness of the incident.
Bhim Singh Rawat (bhim.sandrp@gmail.com)
Post Script: In the latest update by Naveen Reddy the boats still can be seen stuck at the barrage even after three days.
09 Sept. 2024: Repairs completed on damaged gates The repair works on the gates of Prakasam Barrage has been successfully completed. The repair works on the gates of Prakasam Barrage has been successfully completed. Damaged counterweights at gates 67 and 69 were replaced in just two days, despite heavy rain and a strong water flow in the Krishna river. The engineers and staff worked diligently under the guidance of expert supervisor Kannayya Naidu. The repairs became urgent after several boats got stuck at the gates due to floods that recently affected the area. One boat broke after hitting a counterweight, causing blockages at gates 67, 68, and 69, which disrupted the flow of water downstream. Now that the critical repair work is complete, officials are turning their attention to removing the blocked boats to ensure normal operations at the barrage. https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/repairs-completed-on-prakasam-barrage-gates-905186 (07 Sept. 2024)
Inquiry on into boats damaging underway Home Minister V. Anitha has said an inquiry is under way to find out how the boats crashed into the gates of the Prakasam Barrage. The WRD officials had lodged a complaint with the NTR Commissionerate Police on September 6, wherein they said that nobody came forward to claim the boats so far. “The police are inquiring into the case and suspects are being questioned. There are several doubts,” Ms. Anitha told the media on Sept 8. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/inquiry-on-into-boats-damaging-prakasam-barrage-gate-says-ap-home-minister-anitha/article68619044.ece (08 Sept. 2024)
11 Sept. 2024: Prakasam barrage: Investigation on into boat collapse Five boats weighing 40-50 tonnes each crossed gates 67, 69 and 70 of Prakasam Barrage during high flood and hit the counterweight. Fortunately, the boats did not cause any damage to the main structure or the gates of the barrage. With each boat valued at Rs 40-50 lakh, tying 3 boats worth all that with a single plastic rope raises a lot of doubts.
– The barrage served the combined Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and West Godavari districts for about 100 years from 1854 to 1952. After the barrage was damaged by the floods in 1952, the government reconstructed it and named it after former Chief Minister Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu. Efforts are on to find the fifth boat as so far only four boats were being mentioned. https://www.ap7am.com/en/86314/investigation-on-into-collision-of-five-boats-with-prakasam-barrage-minister (09 Sept. 2024)
The AP police arrested two men, identified as K. Ushadri and K. Rammohan, after their boats allegedly crashed into the Prakasam Barrage on September 1 during heavy floods, damaging a gate. Totally 4 boats had crashed into the barrage. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/owners-of-two-boats-that-crashed-into-prakasam-barrage-arrested/article68622531.ece (09 Sept. 2024) Conspiracy angle being suspected. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/conspiracy-in-boats-hitting-prakasam-barrage-ap/articleshow/113207270.cms (10 Sept. 2024)
SANDRP 