Hyderabad, July 5 (IANS) BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao on Sunday demanded that the Congress government immediately operate the Kannepalli Pump House and lift Godavari waters to protect Telangana from an impending drought, warning that the State could face a severe water crisis due to the combined impact of El Niño, deficient rainfall and government inaction.

Addressing the media after inspecting the Kannepalli Pump House, KTR said 26 out of Telangana’s 33 districts are already facing drought-like conditions, while lakhs of cusecs of Godavari water continue to flow wastefully into the sea because the government has failed to utilise the existing Kaleshwaram infrastructure.

He accused the Congress government of displaying complete apathy towards farmers despite repeated warnings from weather experts about El Nino and below-normal rainfall. “Instead of preparing for a drought and protecting agriculture, the government is allowing precious water to go waste while farmers suffer,” he said.

KTR urged the government to immediately restart the Kannepalli pumps and fill reservoirs to provide irrigation and drinking water across Telangana. He alleged that the government was deliberately withholding water as it feared the financial responsibility of procuring larger harvests, supplying fertilisers and paying bonuses to farmers.

Criticising the government’s handling of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, KTR rejected allegations of corruption and demanded that repairs be completed without further delay. He said the project, built under the leadership of former Chief Minister KCR, remained fully capable of supplying water if operated properly.

He also condemned the police for repeatedly obstructing the BRS delegation during its journey from Hyderabad to Kannepalli, alleging that what should have been a four-hour journey took nearly seven hours due to barricades and restrictions imposed at multiple locations.

Recalling Telangana’s long struggle for water, KTR said Kaleshwaram had transformed the State’s irrigation landscape by increasing groundwater levels, expanding irrigation, improving agricultural productivity and ensuring drinking water supply to several districts.

Warning that Hyderabad too could face drinking water shortages if timely action was not taken, KTR said the government must stop politicising irrigation and immediately operationalise the Kannepalli Pump House.

He further warned that if the Congress government failed to immediately begin lifting water from the Kannepalli pumps, the BRS would intensify its agitation.

KTR announced that the party would lay siege to the Kannepalli Pump House with 50,000 to 60,000 people if the government continued to ignore the interests of Telangana’s farmers and refused to utilise the available Godavari waters.

“Switch on the Bahubali pumps and provide water to farmers. If the government fails to act, we will march to Kannepalli, lay siege to the Pump House and ensure that the pumps are switched on,” he asserted.

–IANS

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