Durga Malleswara temple begins work to strengthen retaining wall

Work apace on strengthening the retaining wall atop Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada. Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

Plastering of rocks abutting the wall forms part of project

The retaining wall constructed by the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamivarla Devasthanam is again in news, as the temple authorities have taken up works to strengthen it.

The engineering experts have noticed cracks in the wall. The concrete slab on the top of the wall, called levelling pad, has sunk by 50 cm.

The top layer will be removed shortly and re-laid. The authorities will also take up plastering of the rocks abutting the wall to avoid weathering and sliding, sources say. Cracks had developed at several portions of the retaining wall on the ghat road. The extended portion of the road also sank at several points two years ago. The appearance of cracks in the masonry of the 40-metre-high retaining wall had triggered panic among devotees.

About 20 to 25 cement concrete blocks of the wall came off just before Dasara festivities in 2010. The officials then took up nailing of the blocks to prevent buckling.

Subsequently, many experts inspected the wall and suggested corrective measures.

The State government constituted a committee to study the structural stability of the wall as there were apprehensions that the structure was not stable. The committee recently submitted its report and suggested various measures, including nailing of the wall.

The wall was constructed in four tiers and a geo-synthetic layer had been laid at the end of every 0.6 meters of the wall from the ground level.

It had been consolidated with soil and rock anchoring was done wherever needed. The construction of the wall was taken up after the widening of the ghat road following a stampede in 2008.

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Durga Malleswara temple begins work to strengthen retaining wall