Harish Rao asks Congress to stop rhetoric on Kaleshwaram, slams Govt over neglect of irrigation projects

Harish Rao criticised CM Revanth Reddy for ignoring maintenance of Telangana’s irrigation projects, citing multiple structural failures across the State. He slammed the Congress government for neglect and warned against politicising irrigation issues while failing to deliver on promises.

Hyderabad: Former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao on Friday asked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to stop the false rhetoric over the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) and instead focus on the maintenance of existing irrigation projects. He blamed the Congress government for pushing Telangana’s irrigation sector into crisis through negligence and mismanagement.

Pointing out that in just 18 months, key irrigation structures across the State had suffered serious damage due to poor maintenance, he slammed Revanth Reddy for failing both in maintaining current projects and in planning new ones. He cited several incidents to back his statement, including the Peddavagu breach in Khammam, cracks in the piers of the Manjeera barrage, the collapse of the Sunkishala retaining wall in Nalgonda, flooding at the Vattem pump house in Mahabubnagar, the SLBC tunnel collapse and the snapping of gate cables at the Jurala project in Gadwal.

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“These are not natural disasters, but man-made failures caused by the incompetence of this government in taking up regular maintenance works,” he said, demanding that the Chief Minister explain why no action had been taken despite repeated incidents.

The BRS legislator also questioned the silence of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), which had responded swiftly to the Medigadda barrage issue but had remained inactive despite similar serious lapses elsewhere. He criticised the Chief Minister for engaging in political rhetoric over the Medigadda barrage while neglecting routine maintenance and management of other irrigation projects.

“Not a single check dam, tank, or new ayacut has been added under the Congress regime. You promised irrigation to six lakh acres, but not even 6,000 acres have been covered in the last 18 months,” he said, warning the Congress government against continuing to neglect irrigation infrastructure for political gain.