HYDERABAD: Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Wednesday released 1,000 cusecs of water from Narlapur to Yellur reservoir, saying the release would provide irrigation to an additional one lakh acres under the Mahatma Gandhi Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme.
The additional irrigation benefits are expected to cover the Kalwakurthy, Achampet, Nagarkurnool, Kollapur and Wanaparthy Assembly segments.
Addressing a meeting later, Krishna Rao accused the BRS government of neglecting irrigation projects in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar (Palamuru) district during its 10-year rule. He criticised BRS leaders for demanding water releases despite leaving several projects incomplete.
The Tourism minister said canal excavation and bridge construction between Narlapur and Edula were still under way, and releasing water before their completion would prevent it from being carried forward smoothly.
Excavation was required at three locations, with rocky terrain slowing work in some areas.
Krishna Rao said the Congress government had taken up the stalled works left unfinished under Package 3 of the scheme.
Responding to criticism from former Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy and BRS working president KT Rama Rao, he said demanding water releases without understanding ground realities would mislead the public.