HYDERABAD: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy dismissed the BRS leaders’ visit to the SLBC tunnel site as mere political theatrics, accusing them of staging a drama and leaving after putting on a show.
Speaking near the SLBC site, Uttam pointed out that during the Srisailam Left Bank Power Station blast, which claimed nine lives, no BRS leader visited the site. He recalled that when Revanth Reddy attempted to meet the victims’ families, he was arrested. Similarly, in the Devadula project, where seven workers died, their remains were recovered only after five years. He questioned why Harish Rao remained silent during those incidents but was now giving lectures on the SLBC tunnel accident.
The minister accused BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and Harish Rao of crippling the Irrigation sector, alleging that they spent Rs 1.81 lakh crore on projects that did not deliver water as intended. He claimed the Palamuru-Rangareddy project cost Rs 27,500 crore, but did not irrigate a single acre. Criticised the Kaleshwaram project, he stated that despite BRS leaders boasting about it, it collapsed, and now they have the audacity to question the Congress government.
Uttam blamed the BRS regime for the SLBC tunnel accident, alleging they neglected the project for a decade. He said if the project had been completed on time, it would have provided 30 tmcft of water to Telangana, benefiting three to four lakh acres of agricultural land in Nalgonda.
“The BRS leaders abandoned this project. Had they worked efficiently, Telangana farmers would have had sufficient water long ago,” he said.
“We do not need your advice. SLBC rescue operations are being carried out by experts 1,000 times better than you,” Uttam said.
He further accused BRS leaders of colluding with the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, alleging that while they enjoyed feasts and entertainment at Pragathi Bhavan, Jagan was busy diverting Krishna River water to AP. He claimed that BRS prioritised personal ties over Telangana’s irrigation interests and failed to protect the state’s water resources.
Responding to allegations about his travel he said: “I am a pilot. I have flown several fighter jets. I do not fly helicopters for luxury like BRS leaders,” he remarked.