Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao took a trip to the corridors of power in New Delhi by calling on Union home minister Amit Shah and Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday. He is also expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
Rao is believed to have urged Shah to release Disaster Management Funds for flood affected Hyderabad during a 40-minute interaction with the home minister apart from discussing other issues pertaining to the state.
He reminded Shah that the state government had sought an immediate relief of `1,350 crore for the loss incurred by the state due to heavy rains and had submitted a report regarding the same.
Rao left for New Delhi by a special flight from Begumpet airport on Friday afternoon on a three-day visit to the national capital.
Earlier, Rao met Shekhawat for an hour and requested him to allow increase in the lifting capacity of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme from 2 TMC to 3 TMC per day from Godavari River. He also discussed about the irrigation projects in Telangana state.
It may be recalled here that the Centre had recently put conditions through the Krishna River Water Management Board that all projects in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state must go ahead only after submitting the detailed project reports and also after clearance from the Apex Council headed by Jal Shakti minister.
Sources pointed out that Rao, after explaining the progress of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, asked for an early clearance to increase the lifting capacity. Sources revealed that Rao also objected to the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation project of the AP government to divert water from Srisailam Reservoir to Rayalaseema.
Rao is also expected to meet Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Puri on Saturday to discuss long-pending issues pertaining to the state with them.
He is expected to return to Hyderabad on Sunday. Though the TRS claimed that the Chief Minister Rao’s visit to Delhi was to discuss issues with the Union ministers and Prime Minister, the Opposition parties including Congress and the BJP alleged that Rao had an hidden agenda in meeting the home minister and Prime Minister.
On his first day, Rao is said to have confined his visits to Union ministers and after meeting the Prime Minister he will likely meet the farmer leaders who are agitating against the Centre’s Farm Laws in Delhi.
