Hyderabad, July 21 (RAHNUMA): Former minister and BRS deputy floor leader T. Harish Rao has accused the Congress government of deliberately denying irrigation water to farmers despite the availability of adequate Godavari water, alleging that administrative negligence had pushed large parts of the erstwhile Warangal district into an avoidable drought.
Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Harish Rao said the present crisis was “not a drought caused by El Niño, but a drought created by the Congress Government.”
Recalling the BRS press conference held on July 12, Harish Rao said the party had demanded that the government immediately operate the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme pumps. He said that the very next day, Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy, Bhatti Vikramarka and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy visited the project and announced that 38 TMC of water would be lifted to fill 22 reservoirs under the Devadula project, prompting farmers to begin transplantation.
“Today, those promises have been completely forgotten. The government is neither lifting water nor supplying irrigation to farmers who trusted its assurances,” he said.
Harish Rao pointed out that farmers across Shayampet, Bhimadevarapally, Elkathurthy and several other parts of Warangal district were staging protests demanding irrigation water.
Questioning the government’s inaction, he said that Sammakka Barrage, constructed during the BRS government, currently has sufficient water storage and receives substantial inflows from the Godavari River. Despite the availability of water, he said, the government had failed to operate all the pumps under the Devadula project.
“On July 13, the Ministers announced that all ten pumps would operate. Even till July 20, only five pumps were functioning. Whenever Ministers visit, seven pumps are switched on for display, but once they leave, only three pumps remain operational,” he alleged.
Harish Rao questioned why the government was not fully utilising the Devadula system when there was no technical impediment.
According to Harish Rao, 105 TMC of Godavari water had already flowed past the Sammakka Barrage towards Andhra Pradesh, whereas the government had lifted only 1.9 TMC, despite having the capacity to lift nearly 12 TMC during the same period.
“The entire world is conserving every drop of water, but this government is allowing Telangana’s water to flow away. If even a fraction of the available water had been lifted, all 22 reservoirs under Devadula could have been filled within the last 50 days,” he said.
The BRS leader further alleged that the government had delayed operating the Devadula pumps last year by nearly 50 days after failing to clear electricity dues, resulting in crop losses worth hundreds of crores of rupees.
The BRS leader also criticised the Congress government for repeatedly attacking the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project while failing to execute its own promises, including the proposed Tummidihetti project.
“For the last 30 months, they have only spoken about Tummidihetti. Not even a handful of soil has been moved. Instead of blaming Kaleshwaram every day, the government should focus on supplying water to Telangana’s farmers,” he said.
