Bhatti Accuses KCR for Ignoring Early Warnings on Medigadda Barrage
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday accused former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao of deliberately ignoring the National Dam Safety Authority’s early warnings of damage to the Medigadda barrage, where a pier ultimately sank in October 2023.
Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday accused former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao of deliberately ignoring the National Dam Safety Authority’s early warnings of damage to the Medigadda barrage, where a pier ultimately sank in October 2023.
Participating in the debate on the P.C. Ghose commission report, Bhatti alleged that Chandrashekar Rao and Harish Rao jacked up the estimates of all the projects that were conceived on the Krishna and Godavari rivers by the previous Congress government in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
The Rs 38,000-crore estimate of the Pranahitha Chevella project was enhanced to Rs 1.47 lakh crore under the guise of redesigning it as the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS). Rajivsagar and Indirasagar were estimated to be completed with Rs 1,450 crore but the BRS redesigned them as the Sitaramsagar project and the estimates were boosted to Rs 25,000 crore, he said.
The Deputy CM said had the BRS spent the remaining Rs 27,000 crore required for the Pranahita-Chevella project and completed it, 16.4 lakh acre aycut would have been created and the city would have got nearly 45 tmc ft of water for drinking and industrial needs.
“KCR didn’t want the Pranahita Chevella project to continue because it was named after Dr B.R. Ambedkar,” Bhatti said.
Dismissing allegations of witch-hunting, Bhatti said the Assembly and the people were taken into confidence and all facts were placed before them to decide the future course of action. Making light of Harish Rao calling the Ghose committee report “trash”, the Deputy Chief Minster said the people had thrown the BRS into “trash” two years ago
