BRS leader Jagadish Reddy questions Krishna water diversion

Former Minister and BRS MLA G Jagadish Reddy accused the Congress government of failing to protect Telangana’s water interests. He alleged diversion of Krishna River water through Pothireddypadu and demanded that water diversion be stopped until Nagarjuna Sagar project was filled

Hyderabad: Former Minister and BRS MLA G Jagadish Reddy lashed out at the Congress government over its failure to protect Telangana’s water interests. He said Andhra Pradesh was diverting Krishna River water, while Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his government remained silent without even raising objections.

Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Wednesday, Jagadish Reddy said the BRS had been raising the Godavari River water issue for two months, but the government had failed to respond. He stated that despite substantial inflows into the Krishna River, the government had failed to provide water to farmers.

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The former Minister reminded that during the K Chandrashekhar Rao government, water was supplied to 10-12 lakh acres of ayacut above the Srisailam project, while the present government had failed to irrigate even one acre in the Palamuru region. He alleged that water was being diverted through the Pothireddypadu project in Andhra Pradesh, while Nagarjuna Sagar in Telangana was receiving little or no water.

Jagadish Reddy questioned the diversion of 25,000 cusecs through the Pothireddypadu project and asked who had authorised it. He demanded that water diversion be stopped until the Nagarjuna Sagar project was filled. He questioned how the State government allowed the release of water to Pothireddypadu from Srisailam, while Telangana was facing concerns over drinking water.

He also opposed the suggestion that farmers take short-duration crops, pointing out that even such crops required assured irrigation.

Meanwhile, the senior BRS leader demanded that the State government boycott the Godavari River Management Board meeting if the agenda included a review of seven Telangana projects. He pointed out that the projects had already secured Technical Advisory Committee approvals and questioned Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy’s stand on the issue.

He also criticised the government’s response to the water shortage, stating that performing Varuna Yagam was not a substitute for securing irrigation water and questioned its use after failing to lift water when it was available. He said the BRS would continue its fight for Telangana’s water rights under the leadership of K Chandrashekhar Rao.