Revanth Reddy says KCR should have alerted Govt before crops withered

He denied mismanagement of water resources, stating that poor rainfall led to scarcity of water in irrigation projects and declining groundwater levels

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday came out with a rather strange retort to Leader of Opposition K Chandrashekhar Rao’s criticism of the State government’s handling of the agricultural crisis in the State, saying that Rao “should have alerted the government before the crops withered”.

Talking to the media after inspecting arrangements for the April 6 public meeting of the Congress at Tukkuguda, Revanth Reddy did not offer any explanation as to how Chandrashekhar Rao could predict the drying up of crops, but instead made a satirical remark that the BRS president was perhaps waiting to enjoy a bonfire with dried crops during winter.

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Earlier, alleging that Telangana suffered 100 years of destruction during the 10-year BRS regime, he refuted Chandrashekhar Rao’s remarks on the drought in the State and reiterated that the situation was brought about by deficit rainfall during the previous monsoon.

He denied mismanagement of water resources, stating that poor rainfall led to scarcity of water in irrigation projects and declining groundwater levels.

Accusing Chandrashekhar Rao of visiting agricultural fields for electoral gains, Revanth Reddy said the BRS chief had remembered farmers after 10 years in power.

The Chief Minister also found fault with his predecessor for accusing the Congress of mishandling the water and power situation in the State.

“We came to power in December after the monsoon. As he was in power earlier, he should have informed the government before the crops dried. Probably, he waited to enjoy a bonfire of dry crops in winter,” he said.

In response to the BRS allegation that 200 farmers died by suicide since the Congress government came to power, the Chief Minister asked the Opposition party to provide details within 48 hours.

If the claims were genuine, compensation would be provided after the Lok Sabha elections, he said, also taking a dig at Chandrashekhar Rao, stating that the latter must compensate the farmers for their losses by giving Rs.100 crore out of the funds his party received through electoral bonds.

Revanth Reddy claimed that the State government disbursed Rythu Bandhu agricultural assistance to about 64.75 lakh farmers with the remaining four lakh farmers to receive their assistance after the elections.

Stating that the government had formulated an action plan to address water shortage across the State, he said providing drinking water was the first priority in view of depleting groundwater levels and water storage in various water bodies.

Earlier, Revanth Reddy said the Congress would release its Lok Sabha election manifesto at the ‘Jana Jatara’ public meeting to be held at Tukkuguda near Hyderabad on April 6.

AICC president Mallikharjun Kharge along with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi would release the party manifesto during the public meeting and sound the poll bugle in Telangana

. He was accompanied by IT Minister D Sridhar Babu and other Congress leaders.