Hyderabad: StateIrrigation, Food & Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday strongly condemned what he described as the propaganda and “highly condemnable disinformation” being spread by BRS leaders over the condition of old irrigation projects such as Jurala and Manjeera.

He said that the issues being witnessed today in these projects were directly the result of BRS’s ten-year-long negligence and failure to carry out even routine maintenance, not because of any fault of the Congress government. He underlined that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had personally taken interest in safeguarding Jurala dam by acting decisively to sanction ₹100 crore for an alternative bridge. Revanth’s move was intended to reduce heavy vehicular traffic on the Jurala dam surface and prevent any long-term damage to the dam structure, he explained.

“Revanth Reddy himself was particular that Jurala must be protected, and he ensured this sanction today,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.

He stressed that allegations regarding ropes and stroke gates at Jurala were a non-issue, and engineers and technical experts had clearly confirmed there was no threat to the dam’s operations.

“BRS leaders are simply trying to do propaganda and mislead farmers, instead of owning up to their failures,” he charged.

He reaffirmed that the Congress government was sincere and fully committed to properly maintaining all old projects while also building new ones for the long-term irrigation needs of Telangana.

“We are systematically restoring every project they ignored - Jurala, Manjeera, Nagarjuna Sagar, SRSP, Kalwakurthy, Koilsagar, Bhima – on priority for Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme. Our goal is to make the entire undivided Mahabubnagar district green and lush again,” he stated.

Uttam Kumar Reddy, who inspected Jurala along with Minister Vakiti Srihari, Planning Board Vice-Chairman Dr G Chinna Reddy, MLAs Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, Megha Reddy, Parinika Reddy, Vijayudu, AICC secretary Sampath Kumar, former ZP Chairperson Saritha Tirupathiah, Collector Santosh Kumar and senior engineers, said that no minimum operation and maintenance was carried out under BRS rule for ten years. There was no routine desiltation, no sediment or vegetation removal, and no upgrades, he said.

“Jurala’s capacity alone has dropped by nearly 20–25% due to silt accumulation,” he revealed.