The AP government deserves a pat on its back for completing the prestigious diaphragm wall for the Polavaram project. The diaphragm wall is so important as it determines the life and strength of the reservoir and has to be constructed from the bed of the river to the deeper inside connecting both ends of the river. The strength of the diaphragm wall has to be important as it has to be leak-proof. It is based on this diaphragm wall that the rest of the reservoir is constructed.

As the diaphragm wall has to be constructed under the water, it is difficult for the contractors to carry out the work. It has to divert the flow of the water first and then pump out the water from the ground as it digs deeper inside. Construction in the water is certainly a tough task and the AP government had completed this successfully in just 15 months. The project would now require a earth-cum-rock filled dam on the top of the diaphragm wall to store 194 tmcft of water in the reservoir. The dam would have gates and a black top or cement concrete road, which is being planned as a tourist spot.

This success has to be celebrated and the AP government had done so the other day. The only difference, from the point of the critics, is that the State government and Chandrababu Naidu’s administration had already held similar celebrations several times in the last three years. For every work of the project, the State government had organised events spending a few crore of rupees on publicity. The critics also had a point in the government printing yellow colour T shirts marking the completion of the diaphragm wall. This is where the people who appreciate the good work of the people take a second thought.

If Chandrababu Naidu wanted to get political advantage for the project, he could have made his TDP come up with programmes like printing Yellow colour T-shirts or banners from its own resources rather than using the government funds. The ruling TDP is rich enough to carry out such works or could have asked the contractors to do so. The contractors of the project or those working at other projects have received more funds from the government than the amount fixed initially for every project. The State government was so generous in revising the project cost to benefit the contractors.