‘Water security is economic infrastructure’

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

“Water security is economic infrastructure. Telangana has one of the largest irrigation programmes in the country, with an annual budget of Rs 25,000 crore. There are very few States in India with irrigation assets on the scale that we are dealing with,” said Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy at the “Architects of Viksit Bharat” conclave organised by Zee Media in association with SAP on Thursday.

A former fighter pilot, Uttam reflected on his journey. “I am an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune. In our time, we used to join the National Defence Academy at the age of 15, graduate at 18, and I became a fighter pilot in the Air Force,” Uttam told the gathering. “I flew MiG-21s on the China border and trained on MiG-23s in Russia.” His military career took him to some of the country’s most demanding operational environments. “I was part of several operations in those years, including those in the Siachen Glacier. I was in Leh and spent many years in the Siachen Glacier,” he said.

“I had the good fortune of serving in several frontline combat squadrons on both the India-China and India-Pakistan borders,” he added.

“In an Air Force accident, I had to eject from a MiG-23. Those of you who have seen Top Gun or movies like that know what ejection from a fighter jet involves. You tend not to survive,” he said.

“I survived, but with severe spinal injuries,” Uttam recalled. The fighter cockpit was behind him, but another chapter of public service was about to begin. “I was posted, both for my security and to help me recover, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, as an aide-de-camp (ADC) to the President of India.”

“I served with two Presidents of India — President R. Venkataraman and President Shankar Dayal Sharma,” he said.

‘In a stroke of madness, I came into politics’

“And then, in a stroke of madness, I resigned from government service and came into politics,” he said, using humour to describe the transition.

“I have been around for some time now — a long-serving Member of the Legislative Assembly, a Member of Parliament, head of the Congress party in the State, and now I happen to look after the Irrigation, Food and Civil Supplies portfolios.”

‘We have one of the best food-security systems’

“In Food and Civil Supplies, which is basically the public distribution system, it is about food security,” he said. “I think we are not boasting when we say we have one of the best food-security systems in the country,” he added.