Harish Rao lashes out at Congress govt over Mission Bhagiratha neglect

Harish Rao criticised the Congress government for neglecting Mission Bhagiratha, urging immediate repairs and dedicated funds to safeguard the decade-old drinking water scheme that transformed access across Telangana.

Hyderabad: BRS legislature party deputy leader T Harish Rao lashed out at the Congress government for weakening Mission Bhagiratha without proper operation and maintenance. He urged the government not to allow political differences to affect public welfare schemes. He demanded dedicated funds for Mission Bhagiratha, with immediate repairs to damaged pipelines, motors and pumping systems.

“Governments may change, but people’s needs do not,” he said, calling for Mission Bhagiratha to be strengthened rather than allowed to deteriorate. He suggested a special monitoring mechanism to respond quickly to water supply disruptions.

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Marking 10 years of completion of the flagship drinking water programme, Harish Rao said the scheme, conceived during the K Chandrashekhar Rao government, had transformed access to drinking water across Telangana and helped address the State’s fluorosis problem. He said safeguarding the drinking water network created a decade ago and ensuring its sustainability was essential for improving living standards and providing safe water to future generations.

The senior BRS leader said Mission Bhagiratha was launched with the objective of ensuring safe drinking water to every household and eliminating the need for women to travel long distances carrying pots. The project was built as an integrated drinking water grid, drawing surface water from the Godavari and Krishna rivers, treating it and supplying it through an extensive network of pipelines, reservoirs, pumping stations and overhead tanks.

The former Irrigation Minister stated that the scheme reduced the hardships faced by women in rural areas, saved time and improved access to safe drinking water, particularly in fluoride-affected and remote areas. He also said improved water availability helped reduce health problems and enabled children to spend more time on education.

He pointed out that Mission Bhagiratha subsequently became a model for the Centre’s ‘Har Ghar Jal’ programme and described it as more than a government scheme, calling it a comprehensive system that changed people’s living conditions.

However, Harish Rao alleged that the system was now suffering because of the Congress government’s alleged neglect. He pointed to pipeline leakages, motor failures, problems in pumping systems, power interruptions, delays in repairs and disruptions in water supply.

“Building the scheme was important, but maintaining it continuously is even more important,” he said.