VIJAYAWADA: Coming down heavily on Opposition leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy for calling a bandh, Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said that the YSRC chief was resorting to collusion politics for personal benefits. Speaking to the media here on Saturday, the minister said that Jagan, who was a primary witness to the bifurcation, did not raise his voice in favour of Andhra Pradesh.
“He was there in the Parliament when the division was happening, and yet he did not put up any fight. He hid behind his seat to avoid facing the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Now, when the TDP MPs ripped the BJP apart by exposing the Centre, he called for a bandh. It seems like Jagan got angry because we questioned the BJP,” he said.
Alleging that the YSRC president surrendered to the BJP to get out of his cases and get his seized assets freed, he added, “Jagan is pointing fingers at us as he can’t dare question the BJP.”Devineni further lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “There was not even a word about Visakhapatnam Railway Zone and Kadapa Steel Plant in his address. This shows how arrogant he is. However, the TDP will continue its fight,” he observed.
Talking about the water management in the State, the minister fumed at that Opposition leaders for alleging that Godavari water was being let into the sea from Prakasam Barrage. “We have so far received 16.37 TMC of water to Prakasam Barrage from Paleru, Munneru, Kattaleru and Pattiseema scheme. For the first time in 15 years, we were able to give water for cultivation in June. But, some people, out of ignorance, say we are wasting water,” he said. He explained that out of the 385 TMC water available, the State was able to use 50 TMC.
“Godavari Delta used 34 TMC and we diverted 16 TMC to Krishna delta. About 335 TMC was wastefully gone into the sea,” he said. He explained that letting water to the barrage’s downstream would help in preserving the ecology. “Experts say that 6 TMC of water is to be let downstream to protect the ecology. Otherwise, salt water would reach Vijayawada,” he concluded.