Tardy progress of Budameru works causes concern

Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu inspecting Budameru works recently.
| Photo Credit: File photo

Even as the southwest monsoon has arrived in Andhra Pradesh, the slow progress of construction works undertaken on the Budameru rivulet, where a flash flood wreaked havoc in Vijayawada last year, is causing concerns.

The flash flood caused by three breaches developed in the rivulet left a considerable part of the city under water, causing untold misery to the denizens of 34 wards. Around 5 lakh people endured untold hardships for four days. Around 50,000 cusecs of floodwater entered the rivulet in a day, resulting in breaches at three locations.

The construction of a retaining wall, proposed in the aftermath of the flood fury, is still in a nascent stage. As the monsoon has already arrived, the Budameru rivulet stands as a stark reminder that infrastructure without maintenance becomes a liability. 

The Water Resources Department (WRD) could not complete the works before the arrival of the monsoon.

The government invited tenders, and work began to construct a permanent CC wall to cover the three breaches that caused flash floods.

The sanctioned agreement value of the works is ₹23 crore. There has been an inordinate delay in the execution of the works, leading to tardy progress of the project.

The officials blame it on the contractors, saying that the latter could not mobilise sufficient machinery and workforce in time.  

Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu inspected the Budameru area on several occasions in the recent past. However, the works fail to pick up pace.

The Minister even expressed displeasure over the tardy progress of the construction of a retaining (CC) wall during a visit a few days before.

“The officials must ensure the completion of the works at the earliest. Notices should be issued to the agency which is executing the works,” the Minister said.  

The flash flood in Budameru last year affected Vijayawada badly, and works had to be done round-the-clock to fix the breaches. Even Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu stayed in a bus for ten days to monitor the situation on-site.