Forum For Good Governance Urges CM to Prioritise Godavari Cleanup Over Pushkaralu Spending

HYDERABAD: The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) has urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to take immediate action to curb severe pollution in the Godavari, arguing state funds earmarked for Pushkaralu would be better spent on river restoration.

In a letter, forum president M. Padmanabha Reddy listed several causes for pollution of the river including untreated discharges joining the river at Ramagundam–Mancherial belt, ash from thermal plants and wastes from the coal mines, and leachate from a municipal landfill at a riverbank near Ramagundam joins the river. The water in downstream at Bhadrachalam temple appears black and emits a foul odour.

The forum cited studies by Central Water Commission, Central Pollution Control Board, NEERI and IIT Hyderabad. The FCC also pointed to reduced flows into Telangana after a series of barrages built in Maharashtra, noting stretches such as Basar can run nearly dry in April–May. The forum pointed out that authorities previously released water from the Kadam Project during Pushkaralu, as the river turned dry.

The forum urged the government to confine its role during the Pushkaralu festival in July next year to law-and-order and medical services while redirecting funds meant for Pushkaralu for constructive measures to prevent pollution measures.