Congress turns to BRS-era irrigation projects as drought deepens in Telangana

The Congress government has resumed the Narlapur pump house wet run and intensified operations under the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme, signalling greater reliance on irrigation infrastructure developed during the BRS regime as Telangana grapples with a worsening rainfall deficit.

Hyderabad: The Congress government on Tuesday resumed the wet run of the Narlapur pump house under the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS). However, the decision has exposed an uncomfortable political reality that the ruling Congress was increasingly relying on the very irrigation infrastructure it spent the last two-and-a-half years trying to discredit.

The successful trial run of the first motor at Narlapur was more than a technical milestone. It signalled a quiet but unmistakable shift in the government’s approach to major lift irrigation projects conceived and built during the BRS regime.

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Former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had launched the wet run of the Palamuru-Rangareddy project at the same Narlapur pump house in Nagarkurnool district on September 16, 2023, commencing the pumping of Krishna water into the Narlapur (Anjanagiri) reservoir. Despite the BRS repeatedly demanding for completing around 10 per cent of pending works of PRLIS, the Congress dismissed them.

The shift is not confined to Narlapur. The government recently ordered round-the-clock operation of all 10 pumps under the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme to fill 22 reservoirs across 12 districts, sanctioning Rs 146 crore to expedite related works. Though the project was initiated by the N Chandrababu Naidu government in 2003, the bulk of the work was completed during the BRS tenure.

At the centre of the Devadula exercise is the Sammakka Barrage which was also built by the KCR government at Tupakulagudem in Mulugu district, downstream of Medigadda. The YS Rajasekhara Reddy government had laid a foundation for a barrage at Kanthanapally in 2009 but made no progress for years. The BRS completed the Sammakka Barrage in three years, relocating it 20 km upstream to avoid submerging 12 tribal villages and 11,000 acres of tribal land. The barrage lifts 88.18 TMCft across three phases, irrigates 5.57 lakh acres, and stores 7 TMCft.

Even as the government moves to maximise use of BRS-era assets elsewhere, it continues to rule out operating the Kannepalli pumps under the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme. The official position is that expert advice does not permit operations until Medigadda issues are addressed.

Since assuming office in December 2023, the Congress has consistently portrayed Kaleshwaram, Palamuru-Rangareddy, and other flagship projects as symbols of alleged financial irregularities and engineering failures under the BRS rule. Medigadda became the political shorthand for that campaign.
However, the drought is producing a different narrative. As rainfall deficits are deepening, the reservoirs, pump houses, and barrages built during the BRS tenure are emerging as the State’s principal safeguards against water scarcity. The Narlapur reservoir, the Devadula project with support of Sammakka barrage, and the pumping infrastructure that once featured prominently in political attacks are now being positioned at the centre of the government’s water management response.

Every operational milestone at Narlapur and every reservoir filled through Devadula reinforces the utility of assets the government had repeatedly described as emblematic of failure. The Congress set out to make Telangana’s irrigation projects the principal indictment of its predecessor. The drought has turned that argument inside out.

FACT CHECK 

– Congress now relies on BRS-built irrigation infrastructure. Congress earlier branded flagship projects as failures.

– Congress resumes Narlapur pump house wet run. KCR launched Narlapur wet run in September 2023.

– Devadula’s 10 pumps operate round the clock. Sammakka Barrage becomes drought lifeline.

– Kannepalli pumps remain shut over Medigadda concerns.
– Drought highlights value of BRS-era irrigation assets.