KTR, Harish Slam Govt, Demand Water Release From Jurala for Farmers

Hyderabad: The BRS on Monday alleged that the state government was denying irrigation water to farmers, and said that Telangana “was witnessing the impact of ‘El Congo’, and not El Nino.”

Speaking with reporters, BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao said “farmers served by Jurala project, which has 8.4 tmc of water, have been demanding water release but instead they are being arrested. Our party leaders who expressing support to farmers, have also been arrested. We demand the immediate release of all arrested persons and release of water,” Rama Rao said.

“Even one acre of crop under Jurala dries up, the Congress government will be held responsible. This is not about politics, but about farmers’ interests,” he said. “Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who calls himself the son of Palamuru, has turned into the first enemy of Palamuru farmers. Just like El Nino... this plight is because of El Congo,” he said.

Senior BRS leader T. Harish Rao said it was “atrocious” that former ministers Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, Lakshma Reddy, Srinivas Goud, and former MLAs and other BRS leaders were arrested because they were fighting on behalf of the farmers. “The police have blockaded the Jurala project and deployed a large number of forces around the dam. Why this high-handedness,” Harish Rao asked.

“When Krishna waters are being transported from Srisailam to Kuppam in the Penna basin 738 kilometres away by the AP government, why were the Narlapur, Edula, Karivena, and Vattem rservoirs, part of the Palamuru project and with a total capacity of 50 TMC, not filled when there was a chance to do so?” he said.