Tax Minister P. Srinivas Reddy comments on the Rs 676 crore retained wall side by side at Munneru River in Khammam

Tax Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy reviewed the retaining wall on Monday with Khammam’s Munneru River. |Picture source: Arrangement

Tax Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy asked officials to ensure that the retaining walls were completed quickly with Khammam’s Munneru River, strictly complying with quality standards within the prescribed time frame.

The minister, accompanied by collector Muzammil Khan, inspected the retained (flood-proof) wall work by Polepalli in rural Khammam on Monday.

Working on fixed walls on either side of the Monaru River has been under the background of repeated flooding of rivers beside the river, with an estimated cost of Rs 67.6 crore.

Last year, Munneru expanded to about 36 feet, the highest level in decades, causing severe damage along the river channel along the town.

Speaking to Polepalli’s media, the minister said that once the retaining wall is completed, a permanent solution will be found to address frequent flooding in residential areas on the riverbank. He said that 4,155 meters of earth work and 3,495 meters of cement concrete have been completed in the 17-kilometer fixed wall, and officials are required to continuously monitor the fixed wall project to ensure the earliest completion.

He said a model colony will be built in Polepalli to preserve the land for the wall project to be extinct, and the house site Pattas will soon hand it over to them.

Other collectors P. Srinivas Reddy, Irrigation Department, Khammam Circle, Supervisory Engineer M. Venkateshwarlu, Department Engineer Banala Ramesh Reddy, etc. accompanied the minister.