BRS leaders launch ‘Chalo Karnataka’ campaign, demand removal of illegal barrages

BRS leaders from Mahabubnagar launched the 'Chalo Karnataka' programme, alleging that Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were diverting Krishna basin waters and harming Telangana's irrigation interests. The party demanded the removal of alleged illegal barrages and a halt to new projects.

Mahabubnagar: BRS leaders from Mahabubnagar district on Sunday launched ‘Chalo Karnataka’ programme, demanding the removal of alleged illegal barrages built by Karnataka and an immediate halt to new projects across the Krishna basin. A large convoy led by former Ministers V Srinivas Goud and C Laxma Reddy, former MLAs Chittem Ram Mohan Reddy and Ala Venkateswar Reddy, MLC Naveen Kumar and party leaders Imtiaz Ishaq and Venkateswar Reddy, left for Karnataka. A large number of party workers accompanied them.

Addressing party cadres before the departure, Laxma Reddy said Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were diverting the waters of Krishna, Tungabhadra and Bhima Rivers, affecting Telangana’s irrigation interests. He said the BRS, as the Opposition, would continue its fight to safeguard the State’s water rights.

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He accused the Congress government of neglecting the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, stating that it reviewed the project only after the BRS announced a padayatra. He also criticised the appointment of irrigation adviser Adityanath Das, alleging that he had opposed Telangana’s irrigation projects while working in Andhra Pradesh.

Stating that the BRS had transformed the Palamuru region by completing pending irrigation projects after Telangana’s formation, Laxma Reddy said the party would not allow the district to turn into a desert again. “There will be no compromise on Telangana’s water rights,” he asserted.