State to buy power with Rs 300 crore for November

CM presents a bleak power scenario at Indiramma Baata in Medak

Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, kicking off his Indiramma Baata programme in Medak district, has brought bad news for Telangana saying that power supply  situation might worsen in future.

Addressing a gathering at Dubbak on Monday, Kiran Reddy said as water levels had reached rock bottom in reservoirs there  was no scope for improvement in hydel power.

Telangana region depends heavily on underground water for  irrigation needs and the chief minister’s prognosis that power supply situation would further deteriorate only made them squirm in their seats.

As there was no hydel generation, there is a shortfall of 40  million units. There was no improvement in supply of gas either to generate power from gas-based stations, the chief minister pointed out. “There is a problem and we will explain to the people. There is no need for Opposition parties to tell us what we should do,” he said.

Informing that the state government has been purchasing power by paying Rs 300 crore to regasified liquified natural gas (RLNG) to meet the demand, he said power would be purchased by paying another Rs 300 crore next month also.

Later, speaking at Toopran, the chief minister sought to woo  BCs in Telangana region, asserting that no one, not even Telugu Desam, had done as much as the Congress did for their welfare.

The chief minister, describing Chandrababu Naidu’s padayatra as ‘konga japam,” said one would know who has done what for  the BCs if one took a look at the statistics. “Naidu spent Rs 1,581 crore during his entire 10-year tenure as chief minister of the state for BC welfare. We have allocated  Rs 3,017 crore only for this year. Now you judge yourself who is caring for BCs and who is not,” Kiran Kumar Reddy said.

The padayatra would not serve any purpose, he said referring to Chandrababu Naidu’s and said Naidu was promising moon at at a time when he has no authority to sanction even one rupee. “For instance your MLA (T Narasa Reddy, Gajwel) wanted a degree college in Toopran, PG centre at Gajwel, permanent building for women’s college and an ITI at Gajwel. I am sanctioning all of them now. Could Chandrababu Naidu do that?” he asked.

The chief minister referred to his efforts to secure national project status for Pranahita Chevella which will benefit seven Telangana districts including Medak where 5.2 lakh  acres could be brought under irrigation. He, however, did not forget to make a brief mention of his efforts for national project status for Polavaram too lest it might send wrong signals to people in Coastal Andhra districts.

He reiterated his resolve to accord statutory status to allocations made for welfare of SCs and STs. Very soon the report that the cabinet sub-committee had submitted to me would be accorded the status of a legislation so that Rs. 13,000 crore that should go for the welfare of SCs and STs would reach the intended beneficiaries, he said.

Before arriving at Toopran, the chief minister had an  interaction with the beneficiaries of Indira Jalaprabha at  Dubbaka and women members of self-help groups at Surampalli  on the way to Toopran. As the chief minister was leaving Dubbaka, BJP and TRS workers raised slogans in support of a Telangana state but the police removed them to the nearby police station.

Speaking to Indira Jalaprabha beneficiaries, the chief  minister said the government had been developing 21 lakh acres by providing irrigation facility since 2004 and another 30 lakh acres were targeted to be irrigated with an  investment of Rs 16,000 crore.

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