KHAMMAM: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has urged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to immediately stop diverting 11 tmcft of water per day through the Pothireddypadu lift system from the upper reaches of the Srisailam Dam.
“If 11 tmcft is diverted daily, farmers in Nalgonda and Khammam will suffer severe losses. The Srisailam project will be emptied in just 25 days. If there is genuine concern for tribals, the height of the Polavaram project should be reduced to save two lakh acres from submergence. The [Telangana] government will never agree to Banakacherla,” he asserted.
Speaking at a massive public meeting in Vangaveedu of Madhira mandal, after laying the foundation stone for the Rs 600 crore Jawahar Lift Irrigation Scheme, Vikramarka said that while just 1 tmcft released daily through the left canal of Nagarjunasagar project irrigates lakhs of acres, diverting 11 tmcft through Pothireddypadu is “a grave injustice to Telangana farmers”.
He thanked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy for fighting in the courts and at the Centre to halt Banakacherla and Srisailam lift operations.
Recalling the UPA era, Vikramarka said he had appealed to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi to exclude seven tribal mandals in Bhadrachalam from Polavaram’s submergence area, which was achieved through legal amendments.
“Later, the BJP at the Centre and the BRS (then TRS) in the state brought an ordinance handing over two lakh acres to Polavaram. If the AP CM truly cares for tribals, he should reduce the project height to save these lands,” the deputy chief minister demanded.
‘Let Telangana complete Godavari projects first’
Vikramarka said discussions on the Banakacherla project should arise only after Telangana completes its upstream Godavari projects and determines its share of net and flood waters.
On the Jawahar Lift Irrigation Scheme, he said the previous BRS government ignored the issue for a decade despite repeated appeals, forcing farmers in Madhira’s tail-end areas to depend on water routed through AP.
The deputy CM noted that Madhira has five mandals, each with natural water sources, which led to the construction of the Kattalairu and Jalimudi projects. “Before the Nagarjunasagar Project, farmers here grew jowar, pulses and ridge gourd. Without NSP’s left canal water, they will be forced to return to those crops,” he warned.