Harish Rao Blames Congress Government for Crop Losses

Former Telangana minister and BRS Legislature Party Deputy Floor Leader T. Harish Rao has accused the Congress government, led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, of failing to address irrigation and electricity shortages affecting farmers. During a visit to drought-affected paddy fields in Burugupalli village of Gajwel mandal in Siddipet district, Harish Rao met distressed farmers and inspected their damaged crops. He claimed that nearly 12 lakh acres of crops across Telangana had dried up and alleged that inadequate power supply and irrigation management had worsened the situation. He also criticised the government for failing to take timely measures despite advance warnings about possible El Niño-related drought conditions. Harish Rao demanded an immediate drought declaration, compensation for crop losses and uninterrupted, quality power supply to protect the remaining crops.

Harish Rao further alleged that irrigation pumps at Kannepalli, Devadula and Kalwakurthy were not being operated to their required capacity, contributing to water shortages in several regions. Citing farmers’ losses and rising expenses for alternative power arrangements, he urged the government to release water from Mallanna Sagar and ensure continuous electricity for the next 20–30 days. He also demanded ₹12,000 in assistance for agricultural labourers, funds for drinking-water arrangements and the withdrawal of the alleged ₹5,420 crore electricity tariff burden and increased bus fares. These claims and figures were presented by Harish Rao during his criticism of the government. The state government’s response and independent verification of the crop-loss estimates were not included in the supplied press release.