BRS flays govt. for ‘delaying’ decision on drawing water from Medigadda

Party leader Vinod Kumar says denial of water to entire ayacut of SRSP-Kaleshwaram is a failure of govt.

HYDERABAD

Senior BRS leader and former MP B. Vinod Kumar has found fault with the State Government in taking a decision on drawing water from Medigadda Barrage of the Kaleshwaram Project for the Yasangi crop in the name of National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA).

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, along with former Zilla Parishad (Karimnagar) chairperson Tula Uma, and BRS leaders Gellu Srinivas Yadav and Roop Singh, Mr. Vinod Kumar said that the irrigation authorities were asking farmers of Sriramsagar Project ayacut to raise the Yasangi crops only in a limited extent as giving water to the entire ayacut under Phase-I and II was not possible this season.

Terming it a failure of the government, the former Vice-Chairman of the State Planning Board sought to know why the government was not taking a decision on drawing water from Medigadda Barrage, despite it withstanding thousands of tmc ft of flood waters passing through it this water year even after some problems in one of the blocks of the barrage.

Mr. Vinod Kumar said that the government was stating that the matter was under the purview of NDSA, which had given a preliminary report on the damages suffered by the structure in October last year. But, he made it clear that there was no specification in the Dam Safety Act that permission had to be taken from the NDSA for taking up repairs on the projects/irrigation structures referred to it and that NDSA could only make suggestions.

Stating that government had total control and powers over the operation of Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram Project, the BRS leader said that the barrages withstood heavy flood this season and more recently they withstood an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude on the Richter Scale in the area. He alleged that Congress leaders were carrying out a false propaganda on the safety of the barrages by magnifying the problems which could be rectified.

Reiterating that some minor issues might be there in the execution of major projects, Mr. Vinod Kumar said that the government was free to take action against those responsible for the problems.

He demanded that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy to hold a review meeting on lifting water available at Medigadda Barrage by taking up necessary repairs and giving water to the entire ayacut linked to Sriramsagar-Kaleshwaram projects.

Published - December 11, 2024 08:13 pm IST