Harish Rao slams Revanth Reddy over remarks on farmers

■ Harish Rao condemns Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s remarks against political opponents as unacceptable and inflammatory.

■ Demands immediate operation of Kannapalli and Devadula pumps to utilise available Godavari waters during drought conditions.

■ Says Kannapalli pumps can operate at the present river level without closing Medigadda gates.

■ Accuses Congress government of ignoring recommendations made by retired irrigation engineers

Metro India News | Hyderabad

Former Minister and BRS Deputy Floor Leader T. Harish Rao launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy during a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Sunday, accusing him of using inflammatory language against political opponents while neglecting the state’s irrigation needs amid drought conditions.

He alleged that instead of responding to farmers’ demand for irrigation water, the Chief Minister spoke about “spilling the blood of political opponents” and “beating them with belts,” remarks which, according to Harish Rao, were shocking coming from a sitting Chief Minister.

Harish Rao stated that after BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao visited Medigadda and publicly demonstrated that Godavari carried sufficient water, the government’s earlier claim that there was no water in the river stood exposed. Referring to the Chief Minister’s remarks regarding Kannapalli Pump House operations, Harish Rao explained that the Kannapalli pumps are capable of operating when water reaches 93.5 metres, while the present river level stands at 97.5 metres, making gate closure unnecessary.

Highlighting BRS’s irrigation achievements, Harish Rao stated that while the previous Congress government had irrigated only 6.64 lakh acres over ten years, the BRS government expanded irrigation to nearly 48.74 lakh acres through Kaleshwaram and completion of pending irrigation projects. He also mentioned that Telangana’s paddy output increased from 68 lakh metric tonnes in 2014-15 to nearly 2.60 crore metric tonnes by 2023-24, while cultivated paddy area expanded from 34 lakh acres to 1.18 crore acres.

Responding to repeated allegations of corruption in the Kaleshwaram Project, Harish Rao rejected the Chief Minister’s claim that Rs 1 lakh crore had been spent.  He stated that the total project expenditure stood at around Rs 87,000 crore, of which only about 10 percent related to the Medigadda Yellampalli stretch, while the remaining infrastructure including reservoirs, canals, tunnels and pumping stations continued to function.

Harish Rao also rejected the Chief Minister’s claim that the Congress government had completed the Yellampalli Project. According to him, the BRS government completed the remaining land acquisition, rehabilitated over 13,000 affected families, invested more than Rs 2,000 crore, and made the reservoir fully operational with its 20 TMC storage capacity after 2016. Harish Rao also criticized the government’s handling of irrigation infrastructure over the past two and a half years, citing incidents including the collapse of the SLBC tunnel, the Sunkishala project, flooding of the Vattem Pump House and damage to the Peddavagu Project.

He also criticized the government’s handling of law and order following the recent multiple murder case at Shabad, alleging that senior officials had failed to discharge their responsibilities effectively. Concluding the press conference, Harish Rao appealed to the government to set aside political differences and immediately operate the Kannapalli and Devadula pumping systems.