WANAPARTHY: Alleging that the Congress government had failed to supply water from Srisailam to farmers, leading to the present drought in the state, BRS leader T Harish Rao on Monday urged the Revanth Reddy dispensation to “set aside the ego and politics, and run motors to provide water to both people and cattle”.
The former minister was speaking to the media during his visit to Alwal village where he examined the dried-up paddy fields. “Kondayya sowed paddy on three acres in Alwal. The crop dried up for want of water. This is not an isolated case. Crops in around 25 lakh acres have dried up due to a lack of water,” he said.
“The chief minister says that the drought is caused by the El Nino phenomenon. But the fact is we are experiencing drought due to lack of water. Srisailam received 221 tmcft this year. Jurala received 252 tmcft. But the government failed to utilise this water,” he alleged.
The former minister claimed that though there was sufficient water in the Kalwakurthy project to lift around 50 tmcft this season, the government utilised only 10 tmcft. “Same was the case with Jurala, Nettempadu, Bhima and Koilsagar projects,” he said.
“In 2019-20, in the middle of the Covid crisis, the BRS government lifted 50 tmcft from Kalwakurthy and provided water for two crops,” he added.
Stating that there was still scope to lift 30-40 tmcft from Srisailam, he said: “Set aside ego and politics. Run all five Kalwakurthy motors 24 hours a day, and fill every tank in the region.
Clear the silt in the Palamuru-Rangareddy scheme and fill water from Narlapur up to the Karivena and Vattem reservoirs. Groundwater will rise, borewells will recharge, and there will be water for cattle and for people.”
Compensation for ryots
Harish Rao demanded release of water from Jurala for another 15 days to save the standing Kharif crops. He also sought compensation for farmers who lost crops in over 25 lakh acres in the state. He also demanded that the Union government send a team to assess the situation in the state.
