Congress MLA slams BRS over failed barrages, welcomes CBI probe into Kaleshwaram project
Karimnagar: The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) project was initiated under the previous BRS government but ultimately collapsed during their tenure, Government Whip and Vemulawada MLA Aadi Srinivas said, calling it a historic blunder that has never happened before in the country under any government.
He, along with district collector Sandeep Kumar Jha, distributed 1,550 Indiramma housing pattas to families displaced under the Mid Manair project at a private function hall in Vemulawada of Rajanna Sircilla district on Sunday.
Speaking on the occasion, the MLA alleged that BRS leaders are falsely claiming that there is no water without the Kaleshwaram project and accused them of trying to spread misinformation among the people. He urged them to display photos of the collapsed Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages and explain why these barrages were not in a usable condition.
“Water was not stored at Medigadda this year. Similarly, the Annaram and Sundilla barrages are also not in a position to hold water. A report from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) confirmed that storing water at the barrages would be dangerous and could pose a flood threat to 40 villages downstream, as well as to Bhadrachalam town,” he pointed out.
Aadi Srinivas said water is currently being supplied through projects built by previous Congress governments, such as the Yellampalli project built by former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajashekar Reddy and the Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP). He criticised BRS leaders for misleading people with colourful brochures and false narratives about the Kaleshwaram barrages.
The Congress MLA suggested that since BRS leaders earlier took people on bus trips to showcase the Kaleshwaram project, they should now take people to see the collapsed Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages.
Srinivas further claimed that without using a single drop of water from the Kaleshwaram project, Telangana produced over two lakh metric tonnes of paddy last year — the highest compared to the united Andhra Pradesh. This, he said, proved the falsity of BRS claims about the project.
He welcomed Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s decision to hand over the investigation of the Kaleshwaram project to the CBI.
