Vijayawada, Sep 10 (IANS): The Water Resources Department began on Tuesday the efforts to remove three boats that collided with Prakasam Barrage across the Krishna River in Vijayawada during the recent floods.
Engineers from the department were using two heavy cranes to remove the wooden boats. Officials said each crane can lift a load of 50 tonnes.
Four boats had rammed into the barrage at Gates 67, 69 and 70 on September 1 when all 70 gates were opened to release the flood water downstream. One of the boats went down between the gates while efforts were on to identify the location of another boat.
According to officials, the boats damaged the counterweight of Gate 69 of the barrage. However, the main structures of the gates were not damaged.
The operation to remove the boats was undertaken a day after police arrested two persons including the owner of three boats on suspicion of sabotage.
Police arrested Ushadri, the owner of the three boats and YSR Congress Party leader Komati Rammohan. Both were produced before a court, which remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days.
Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu alleged that there was a conspiracy behind the incident. He said the investigations were on due to suspicion that boats were deliberately left in the river to damage the barrage.
The minister said Ushadri is a follower of Rammohan, who is a relative of YSRCP MLC Talasila Raghuram. He claimed that YSRCP leader Nandigam Suresh and others formed a syndicate for dredging in Krishna River.
"It is beyond one's comprehension to imagine what the damage would have been if the boats collided with the main structure," he said.
The minister said all boats carried YSRCP colours. There are suspicions it could be a "deliberate sabotage", he said.
The boats, each weighing 40-50 tonnes, were tied to each other merely with a plastic rope. The minister stated that boats were neither anchored, nor did the owners take any precautionary measures to secure them tightly.
Meanwhile, the officials said on Tuesday that Prakasam Barrage was receiving inflows of 2.09 lakh cusecs while 2.01 lakh cusecs were being released downstream. Three of the gates remained closed.