Hyderabad: BRS senior leader T Harish Rao on Sunday lashed out at Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy-led Congress government alleging criminal negligence in handling the state’s irrigation systems during the ongoing floods.

The BRS leader addressed a press conference at the Siddipet Camp Office on Sunday, where he strongly criticised the Congress government on irrigation front. Harish Rao expressed deep concern over the government’s failure to operate the Kaleshwaram project pumps and store floodwaters in reservoirs, accusing it of prioritising politics over farmers’ welfare. The Congress government is playing politics instead of protecting the interests of farmers.

The BRS leader questioned why the government was not making use of the floodwaters even though Sripada Yellampalli was receiving 62,000 cusecs and Kadem project was getting over 1.5 lakh cusecs. This water could easily be diverted to fill reservoirs like Mid Manair, Annapurna, Ranganayaka Sagar, Mallanna Sagar, Kondapochamma and Baswapur, which are currently either dry or severely underfilled. He pointed out that just by switching on the motors at Nandi Medaram Gayatri Pump House, 2 TMCs of water could be lifted daily to Mid Manair. Yet, only 3 out of 7 motors are functioning. He said that even after alerting Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy a week ago through a letter, no action has been taken.

He accused the government of willful neglect and demanded that motors be switched on immediately to save Rabi crops. Rao expressed concern that motors are being switched on and off twice a day, which was technically dangerous and could permanently damage them. These are not ordinary one-HP motors; each one consumes power equal to what an entire district uses, he said.

Harish Rao demanded that all seven motors at Yellampalli be run continuously to bring at least 2 TMCs of water per day into Mid Manair. From there, one TMC per day should be released to Annapurna, Ranganayaka Sagar, Mallanna Sagar, Kondapochamma Sagar and Baswapur reservoirs to ensure water supply for lakhs of acres in the upcoming Rabi season. The Congress government is deliberately keeping the motors off to protect its false narrative that the Kaleshwaram project has failed. “You say the project collapsed but is that the reason you are letting water go to waste, just to prove your lie?” he asked. “This isn’t politics. I’m speaking with responsibility as a former Irrigation Minister. I’m speaking for the farmers. I’m pained because my district’s farmers and the state’s farmers are suffering.”

Rao said, if the government doesn’t act, he along with thousands of farmers would march to the pump houses and switch the motors on themselves. “The BRS government built this infrastructure to lift 2 TMCs daily. We will not stay silent while water is wasted. We will act and ensure farmers get water,” said Harish Rao.