Decoding Godavari Breaching Papikondalu

Friends while I was trying to understand Polavaram National Project in all my sincerity to understand all the aspects as much as I can, I watched this beautiful master piece of

650 Million Years in under 2 minutes 

400 Million Years into Past and 150 Million Years into Future

My belief of “Adopt the Nature, not Challenge the Nature” further Got Reinforced and I went back to Google Earth to Study Godavari River and how it flows through Papikondalu trench of Eastern Ghats, reaches Polavaram Dam Site at the end of its long travel through the breach in Papikondalu for Over 40 Kilometers, in this long beautiful flow it’s width is actually is just about 300 Meters to 400 Meters width for almost 16 Kilometers, while it becomes mighty 6 KM Cotton Barrage at Rajahmandry ..

Polavaram Rock fill Earth Dam is currently designed to have Spill over of 754 Meter at 45.72 Meters.

Careful Analysis of the Eastern Ghats and the Altitudes, Godavari River appears to have had a Natural Alluvial Dam in the form of Papikondalu the Water level even if it reached 100 Meters this Dam could hold and the Water had no other way to reach Bay of Bengal other than breach of the Papikondalu a natural rock filled earthen alluvial dam

Clearly Before Ramyana this Natural Dam, may I call it Manyam Dam has Breached at the Point , considering that point receives highest water Pressure of this Manyam Dam!
Then the In-land River Godavari found its 300 meter narrow Breach to Discharge the Massive (potentially Few thousands of TMC ) Water into Bay of Bengal and then came Ramyana, Shabari, Ramadasu and Badrachalamu that is all a known History ..

Area Marked Blue is Quite Conservative and is about 70 Meters only not the Manyam Reservoir Level of like 100 Meter where it would have breached the Papikondalu in Eastern Ghats..

Below actual Satellite Picture of 2006 Floods on River Godavari is recent Reality and is not the recent known worst flood disaster in 1986 on River Godavari.

Initially like Many, I was also probing the Angle of Safety of the Polavaram Dam

But above analysis gave me hint that Dam has Papikondalu and this Only 300 Meter Width (Natural Spill Over) acting as a Buffer Choking the Upstream flood water first, before the Dam Safety comes under threat. So in my opinion the first Threat is surely to people in entire Manyam area that includes entire Bhadrachalam Town and Badradri Sita Rama Temple that will face massive Back Flow, Back Water Surge as the Water Simply Can not pass through the Papikondalu Long Spill of just 300 Meter for 16 Kilometers..
It would devastate Entire Manyam Region before it can threaten Polavaram Dam itself..

Once again my respect and regard to the Great Andhra Engineer T.Hanumantha Rao Garu Engineer-in-Chief (Retired) Government of Andhra Pradesh, has gone up many folds and even after retirement he took pains to propose this alternative sensible Multi Barrage Design..

Unfortunately these words of wisdom were not headed to and the Dhanyagnam under Jalayagnam Chief Minister at that time went ahead and spent significant tax payer money and the foundation for the Dam is done

I would urge Govt of India to take a short pause and have best of the Experts from Dam, Flood Water specially Back Flow and Back Water Effect and the Dam Break Analysis under various flood conditions simulated by more than one party and establish the Optimal Dam Heights and other Alternatives to achieve Same level of Water Utilization with reduced impounding of water introducing significant risk and come up with revised plan that might include
1. Lowering the dam height to somewhere in the range of 30 to 35 Meters

2. Water Powered Pumping of Impounded Water to Both Canals at 40 Meter Height (this will make no Dead Stock all Stock into LIVE stock for both Hydal, Lift and Continuous feed to Cotton Barrage at Dawaleswaram

3. Install upto 1000 MW Solar Plant using the saved money of R&R and Project construction

4. Mineral Resources Mapping in the Manyam area and potential impact at various water levels

5. Alternative Upstream Barrages and Small dams with Same WPP system on both Godavari and Sabari tributary

6. Total Social Cost that includes revised costs according to the Land acquistion act and tribal acts and the interest capitalization for this capital intensive national project

I am hoping and wishing our Prime Minister will look into all the aspects and make necessary and better changes to the #Polavaram Project and make India proud of it by adopting to the nature.

Jai Bharat