Water fundamental for living, not expense: BRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao slams Congress for Telangana water crisis

Lashes out at government for reducing irrigation, drinking water to an economic issue instead of treating it as a fundamental necessity

Hyderabad: BRS chief and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday lashed out at the Congress government for reducing irrigation and drinking water to an economic issue instead of treating it as a fundamental necessity. He blamed it for Telangana’s worsening water crisis and drying reservoirs.

Addressing the party cadre at his Erravalli residence, marking the conclusion of a 180-km padayatra led by former Ramagundam MLA Korukanti Chander from Ramagundam to Hyderabad, he demanded that the State government address the growing water crisis in Telangana.

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“Water once abundant under the BRS rule has now disappeared under the Congress regime. Why has the Kaleshwaram project, which brimmed with water last year, dried up today?” Chandrashekhar Rao asked, blaming the government’s administrative neglect, turning once-thriving farmlands into parched deserts.

Drawing comparisons, he pointed out that even desert nations such as the Gulf and cities like Chennai invest in desalination and water conservation, despite the economic challenges involved. In contrast, Telangana’s current rulers treat water as an expense rather than a necessity, he said.

The BRS chief slammed the Congress for failing to prioritise water management, unlike the BRS government which had stabilised agriculture, ensured irrigation, provided free electricity, paddy procurement and implemented schemes such as Rythu Bandhu investment support. He said these efforts kept farmers secure for a decade, but the current government was not spending adequately, citing costs involved.

“Governments exist to serve people, not to count expenses. Even desert nations purify sea water to sustain their citizens. Telangana needs irrigation and drinking water, and no government should hesitate to provide them,” he stated.

Chandrashekhar Rao also questioned the deterioration of power supply, the failure of Mission Bhagiratha to provide drinking water and the drying up of water bodies. He slammed the Congress for reversing BRS welfare policies, questioning why Mission Bhagiratha was failing to supply water and why once-filled reservoirs were drying up. He said the government was demolishing houses of the poor in Hyderabad in the name of HYDRAA, instead of fulfilling its promises.

The former Chief Minister charged the Congress with betraying Telangana for decades, from the forced merger in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh to decades of water and employment injustices. He recalled how the party oppressed Telangana’s aspirations since the Nehru era, including the brutal suppression of the 1969 Telangana statehood agitation. “I have only vented out my anger against the decades of injustices meted out to Telangana, but never abused any leader personally,” he added.

Chandrashekhar Rao also warned that external forces were conspiring to weaken Telangana with an eye on its resources, pointing to media narratives promoting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and the NDA in the State. He urged the people of Telangana, especially the youth, to stay vigilant against such conspiracies.

On people seeking his help to fight against the atrocities of the Congress government, he jokingly said they defeated his party and made him powerless. “You cannot give the weapon to one and ask another to fight,” he said, asking people to think wisely towards improving the conditions and ensuring better living for future generations. He assured that the BRS would continue to fight alongside the people of the State.