BRS renews pressure on Congress govt to operate Kannepalli pumps

The BRS accused the Congress government of worsening irrigation and drinking water shortages by refusing to operate the Kannepalli pump house despite adequate Godavari flows. Party MLAs offered to accept responsibility if any issue arose after pumping operations resumed.

Hyderabad: Intensifying its campaign over the Kaleshwaram project, the BRS on Tuesday accused the Congress government of allowing irrigation and drinking water shortages to worsen by refusing to operate the Kannepalli pump house despite abundant Godavari River flows at Medigadda. The party MLAs offered to take complete responsibility if any issue arose at the Annaram Barrage after pumping operations were resumed.

Speaking to mediapersons at Telangana Bhavan, former Minister and Karimnagar MLA Gangula Kamalakar said nearly nine TMCft of water was flowing downstream daily, while crops in the Lower Manair and Mid Manair command areas were drying up. He appealed to the government to set aside its ego and commence pumping water immediately.

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Stating that North Telangana was staring at both irrigation and drinking water shortages, he questioned why the Ministers did not visit Karimnagar to assess the situation on the ground. He said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was misleading people for political motives.

Huzurabad MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy said the issue had gone beyond politics, asserting that farmers were paying the price for the government’s refusal to utilise the Kaleshwaram infrastructure. He challenged Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, stating that all 28 BRS MLAs would accept responsibility and quit politics if any mishap occurred at the Annaram or Sundilla barrages after pumping operations resumed.

BRS Assembly Whip KP Vivekananda said the El Nino conditions had heightened the risk of irrigation and drinking water shortages, including in Hyderabad. He stated that the government was citing the NDSA report as an excuse to avoid operating the pumps despite engineers recommending that limited water lifting was feasible.

Accusing the Congress government of putting politics ahead of farmers’ interests, he warned that the government would be held responsible if water scarcity intensified in the coming weeks.