Hyderabad, July 6(RAHNUMA): Senior leaders of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Monday demanded that the Telangana government immediately begin lifting water through the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, alleging that the government was deliberately refusing to operate the system despite sufficient water availability.
Addressing a press conference, former minister Guntakandla Jagadish Reddy said that up to 150 TMC of water could be stored by operating the motors at the Kannepalli pump house. He accused the government of misleading farmers and neglecting Telangana’s irrigation needs.
Jagadish Reddy challenged the government to hand over the project to former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for a week, claiming the BRS would successfully pump water into the reservoirs. He said the party was even willing to take full responsibility if any mishap occurred, dismissing concerns raised by Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy over the project’s safety.
He alleged that the government was staging a political drama to benefit AP chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and asserted that the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) had no role in the decision to lift water from the project.
The former minister claimed the engineers had indicated that the Kannepalli motors had remained idle for nearly a year and alleged that Uttam Kumar Reddy lacked adequate understanding of the project’s technical aspects. He also criticised other ministers, including Duddilla Sridhar Babu, accusing them of supporting the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy without addressing Telangana’s irrigation concerns.
Jagadish Reddy maintained that the Kaleshwaram project was designed to ensure water security during drought conditions and alleged that the government was reluctant to operate the pumps due to concerns over electricity costs, crop procurement obligations and bonus payments to farmers.
Former minister Gangula Kamalakar questioned why water was not being lifted from Kannepalli and Yellampalli and warned that the BRS would launch fresh protests, including “Chalo Kannepalli” and “Chalo Yellampalli” if the government failed to act. He claimed that the NDSA had recommended only minor repairs at the Annaram and Sundilla barrages and had not advised against storing water there.
Former MP B. Vinod Kumar criticised Uttam Kumar Reddy’s remarks about potential flooding in Bhadrachalam, arguing that the town had remained safe even during the 2021 floods when heavy inflows passed through the project.
Vinod Kumar further alleged that large-scale sand excavation was taking place at the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages and claimed this was the real reason the reservoirs were not being filled. He urged the government to at least partially fill the Annaram and Sundilla barrages and resume water-lifting operations.
On the other hand, the Telangana government has maintained that the decisions regarding operation of the Kaleshwaram project will be taken based on technical assessments and safety considerations.
