Harish Rao hits back at Congress on Kaleshwaram project

The former Irrigation Minister also targeted the previous Congress administration for its failure to effectively utilise the Yellampally project.

Hyderabad: Former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao gave a strong counter to Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Sunday for his remarks on the Kaleshwaram project, castigating him for spreading misinformation about the massive irrigation initiative. He said the Congress leader lacked a clear understanding of the project and its benefits, especially regarding the Yellampally reservoir.

In a statement, Harish Rao pointed out that Prabhakar was misleading people by claiming that water in the Mallanna Sagar reservoir was pumped from Yellampally, and not Kaleshwaram. He argued that even if the water pumped from Yellampally, it was still part of the broader Kaleshwaram project network, as the Kaleshwaram pumps lift water from Yellampally. “Ponnam should understand that Kaleshwaram’s pumping system is responsible for filling reservoirs like Mallanna Sagar. In an attempt to criticise me, he exposed his lack of knowledge about irrigation projects,” he remarked.

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The former Irrigation Minister also targeted the previous Congress administration for its failure to effectively utilise the Yellampally project.

He criticised the Congress government for initiating multiple irrigation projects and keeping them incomplete. “The Yellampally project was handed over to us incomplete. The BRS government invested Rs 2,052 crore for land acquisition, rehabilitation, and infrastructure to fully operationalise the project,” he said.

Harish Rao also thanked Prabhakar for admitting that reservoirs like Yellampally, Nandimedaram, Mid Manair, Anantagiri, Ranganayaka Sagar, Mallanna Sagar and Kondapochamma Sagar were supposed to be part of the Pranahita project, but reminded that after re-engineering, they had been integrated into the broader Kaleshwaram project. He reiterated that the previous BRS government had only re-engineered the project, but did not change the alignment. He urged Congress leaders to view Kaleshwaram as a comprehensive Godavari River valley development project rather than treating it as multiple seperate projects.

The senior BRS legislator dismissed the allegations of the Congress that the damaged Medigadda pillars indicated the failure of the entire Kaleshwaram project, and called them as attempts to mislead the public. He suggested that Congress leaders focus on constructive contributions, particularly in rehabilitating Link-1 of the Kaleshwaram project in time for the 2025 monsoon season.

Harish Rao challenged Prabhakar to clarify his stance on Kaleshwaram’s achievements, specifically referencing statements made in the Telangana Assembly about the acreage irrigated by the project. “If the calculations given in the Assembly are false, we will move a privilege motion against Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy for misleading the legislature,” he added.