HYDERABAD: BRS leader and former Irrigation minister T Harish Rao on Tuesday challenged the state government to complete the Tummidihatti project and prove that water can be diverted through gravity, as is being claimed by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
Speaking to the media, the Siddipet MLA said that reservoirs inaugurated by the chief minister on Monday were in fact constructed during the BRS regime. “Water being diverted to the Hyderabad drinking water scheme was indeed Kaleshwaram water,” he added.
Speaking specifically about the construction of Tummidihatti barrage under the revived Pranahita-Chevella project, Harish said that Revanth has finally admitted that there was an agreement with the Maharashtra government to construct a barrage at a height of 148 metres.
“Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy have so far been claiming that there was an agreement to construct the barrage at a height of 152 metres. They claimed that water would flow up to Rangareddy district through gravity. To prove their claims were right, let them divert water from Tummidihatti through gravity,” Harish Rao said.
The BRS leader also rubbished the chief minister’s claim that the Yellampalli project was constructed by the Congress government. “It was the BRS government that completed Yellampalli and filled the project with 20 tmcft water,” he said and added that the government proposed to divert water from Kaleshwaram, and not from Yellampalli as is being claimed by it, for the Hyderabad drinking water scheme.
“The storage capacity at Yellampalli is 20 tmcft, including three tmcft of dead storage. Of the remaining 17 tmcft, it would utilise 12 tmcft to irrigate 1.65 lakh acres. The NTPC would use six tmcft for power generation; three tmcft would be used for Gudem lift irrigation scheme in Mancherial and another tmcft used for Ramagundam lift scheme,” Harish explained and wondered how the government would be able to divert 20 tmcft from Yellampalli to Hyderabad.
‘Diverting KLIS water to Hyd’
Claiming that the government was diverting Kaleshwaram water to Hyderabad, Harish further explained: “If Medaram motors are operated near Yellamapalli, then Medaram reservoir would get water. Likewise, if Lakshmi pump house is operated, then flood flow canal would get water. From there, the water would flow to Mid Manair. From Mid Manair, water would flow to Anantagiri reservoir and from there to Ranganayakasagar. When motors are operated at Ranganayakasagar, then the Mallannasagar would receive water.”
“From Yellampalli to Mid Manair, all the canals, gravity canal, reservoirs, sub-stations and pump houses were constructed by the BRS as part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme. With foresight, (the then CM) K Chandrasekhar Rao even constructed a sluice at Mallannasagar for Hyderabad’s drinking water needs,” he said while describing Mallannasagar as an integral part of Kaleshwaram.
Harish Rao also pooh-poohed Revanth’s claim that Mallannasagar was constructed by former CM of united Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy. He tried to remind Revanth how as an Opposition leader, he even organised a 48-hour deeksha against the construction of Mallannasagar.
Harish Rao also said that the BRS government had spent `7,000 crore to meet the drinking water needs of Hyderabad.