Kaleshwaram Project 'Useless,' Should Be Abandoned, Says CPI MLA
Rao said the ₹1-lakh-crore project had not delivered “a single additional drop” of irrigation water, claiming farmers were instead receiving supplies diverted from the Yellampalli reservoir
WARANGAL: Kothagudem MLA and Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao on Saturday urged the Telangana government to halt the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, calling it “useless” and a waste of public money.
Speaking at a press conference at Haritha Kakatiya Hotel, Rao said the ₹1-lakh-crore project had not delivered “a single additional drop” of irrigation water, claiming farmers were instead receiving supplies diverted from the Yellampalli reservoir. He accused senior BRS leaders, who once equated the project with former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, of avoiding accountability now that construction flaws have surfaced.
Rao also contended that CPI had long advocated building the barrage at Thummidihatti, 140 metres above sea level, but that the state instead chose Medigadda and is now “blaming Maharashtra” for withholding clearances there.
The CPI leader accused the Modi government of human-rights violations through “Operation Kagaar,” which he said targets left-wing activists, and condemned authorities for allegedly refusing to hand over the body of slain Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao to his family.
Charging the Centre with “manipulating poverty statistics,” Rao argued that a daily wage of ₹280-₹320, or even a monthly family income of ₹20,000, still leaves households poor. “The government is peddling a narrative of a poverty-free India to hide its failures,” he said.
Turning to Telangana politics, he likened BRS MLC K. Kavitha’s “political uncertainty” to that of Y.S. Sharmila Reddy in Andhra Pradesh and alleged a “secret understanding” between the BRS and the BJP. Rao concluded by reiterating his demand that the Kaleshwaram Project be suspended immediately to prevent further public expenditure.
