Operational control of Krishna projects: BRS leaders slam Jal Shakti Minister

Addressing a conference at Telangana Bhavan, BRS leaders said Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat's claim that the previous regime of the BRS had given its concurrence to hand over Krishna projects was an instance of sheer bluffing

Hyderabad: The State under the BRS government had never offered to hand over the operational control of the Krishna basin projects to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) as there was no reason to do so without the State’s concerns being addressed, BRS leaders S Niranjan Reddy, G Jagadish Reddy and Talasani Srinivas Yadav said here on Tuesday.

Addressing a news conference at Telangana Bhavan, they said union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s claim that the previous regime of the BRS had given its concurrence to hand over Krishna projects was an instance of sheer bluffing. No responsible minister would indulge in such false claims.

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The realisation of the State’s entitlement over the Krishna river waters would be at stake right from the day the Nagarajuna Sagar and Srisailam projects were handed over to the river management board. The State was now more or less left totally clueless on its role in safeguarding Telangana’s rights over the river waters.

They demanded the Centre to ensure that the rightful share of Telangana of the Krishna river water was decided by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II within six months. They reiterated that BRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao had never compromised on the interests of the Telangana more so with State ‘s share of Krishna waters.

Massive mobilisation for Nalgonda meeting

They added that the Nalgonda public meeting on February 13 would mark the beginning of a new phase of a BRS agitation for the interests of Telangana. They asserted that the Nalgonda public meeting could not be stopped by any force.

The people of Nalgonda, Khammam and Mahabubnagar would suffer the worst once the two projects were handed over to the Krishna River Management Board. The party leaders from these districts, who had interacted with the BRS chief on Tuesday, had voiced grave concern over their plight. Chandrashekhar Rao had come forward to spearhead the fight against Centre and State with steely resolve, they added.