Revanth Reddy continues allegations on BRS, KCR

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy alleged that though engineers and expert committees said a barrage at Tummidihatti was the best option and not Medigadda

Hyderabad: Blaming the previous BRS government for damages caused to the Medigadda barrage, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy alleged that though engineers and expert committees said a barrage at Tummidihatti was the best option and not Medigadda, former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had gone ahead with his plans, “resulting in damages to the barrage” and making the entire Kaleshwaram project “unviable”.

Speaking during a discussion on a white paper on irrigation on Saturday, the Chief Minister claimed that the five member expert committee constituted by Chandrashekhar Rao in its final report has said the construction of a barrage near the main Godavari river near Medigadda village and lifting 160 TMC water to Mid Manair reservoir was not desirable. However, the report was not considered, he alleged.

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“I don’t know what prompted him to change the location of the barrage, but it turned out to be a disaster for the entire Kaleshwaram project. The BRS government increased the project cost from Rs. 38,500 crore to over 1 lakh crore. If the project was good, despite being expensive it would have been useful for the people of Telangana but now it has become waste,” he alleged.

Revanth Reddy also alleged that experts had warned that redesigning of the Pranahita-Chevella project would not achieve the desired results. “Kaleshwaram is no longer a boon to the people of Telangana. It has become a blot for the State,” he alleged.

Revanth Reddy also targeted T Harish Rao, who was also Irrigation Minister during the first term of the BRS government, stating that Harish Rao, instead of accepting his government’s mistake, was trying to find fault with the white paper presented by the government.