Telangana’s Drought Is Man-Made, Not Natural, Says KTR

BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) launched a sharp attack on the Congress government over the drought-like conditions in Telangana, holding Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy responsible for the hardships faced by farmers. Speaking at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, following the induction of BJP and Congress leaders and workers from Nirmal district into the BRS, KTR alleged that crops were drying up despite the availability of water in the Godavari and Krishna rivers. He claimed that farmers could have received irrigation water if the pumps at the Kannepalli pump house had been operated. He also accused the government of failing to utilise Godavari water because the Kaleshwaram project pumps had not been switched on, alleging that political considerations were being placed above farmers’ interests.

KTR said Telangana had the potential to utilise 750 TMC of Godavari water and 250 TMC of Krishna water, but alleged that the Congress government was failing to make effective use of these resources. He questioned why adequate water-storage measures had not been taken despite prior weather warnings and criticised the government for not fully utilising the Kaleshwaram and Palamuru–Rangareddy lift irrigation projects. He further highlighted farmers’ reported difficulties over Rythu Bandhu payments, electricity supply, urea and irrigation water. Comparing the situation with Andhra Pradesh, KTR alleged that water was being diverted for agricultural use there while Telangana’s river water was flowing into the sea. He urged the Revanth Reddy government to set aside political differences and immediately operate irrigation project pumps to protect farmers’ crops.