The Hindu 08.10.2010
Team inspects 10 MGD plant
Staff Reporter
They suggest bailing out of the sand that accumulated in the collection well
Chennai team to arrive for video-recording
VIJAYAWADA: A team of experts constituted by the State government on Thursday inspected the collection well of the 10-MGD plant at Ramaligeswara Nagar that sank three weeks ago.
The team included I.S.N. Raju, Chief Engineer, Central Designs Organisation; K. Suresh Kumar, Chief Engineer, Public Health; M. Satyanarayana, Deputy Director, Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board; and Md. Imtiyaz Ahmed, Chief Engineer, APUFIDC.
They visited the plant in the morning and studied the situation. In their preliminary observations, they felt that the sand accumulated in the collection well was obstructing the view.
They suggested that the officials of the VMC bail out the sand that accumulated in the collection well of the plant. They also suggested to the officials to record the situation in the well using underwater video cameras.
The footage obtained thus would provide a better picture of the condition inside the well. Based on the footage, the experts would make necessary suggestions.
A similar view was expressed by S. R. Gandhi, an expert from IIT Madras during his visit a week ago. Prof. Gandhi felt that “ceiling concrete might have failed.”
But, it could be established only after further studies, he told the VMC officials and suggested to them to bail out the silt that accumulated in the well. He, however, cautioned them against pumping out the entire water and emptying the well.
The Corporation, meanwhile, contacted Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology for necessary assistance.
A team would visit the plant on Saturday to video-record inside the well.
