Kaleshwaram Row Heats Up as Uttam, Harish Trade Charges over Project Failures
Responding to Uttam Kumar Reddy’s statement, Harish Rao hit back saying: “Despite presenting facts and evidence debunking your claims, you persist with the same false narrative.”
Hyderabad: The ongoing war of words over the Kaleshwaram project between irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and his predecessor T. Harish Rao, escalated into a battle with both accusing each other on Saturday of lying about the project’s achievements and fail.
On Harish Rao’s presentation earlier in the day, Uttam Kumar Reddy in a statement held former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and Harish Rao “entirely responsible for failure of the Kaleshwaram project’s barrages,” and demanded an unconditional apology for wasting public funds and building a project of poor quality. He said it was the BRS that claimed Medigadda barrage was Kaleshwaram project’s heart. As per this claim, Uttam Kumar Reddy added, only water lifted from there should to be taken into account to evaluate the project’s achievements.
In five years after the 2019 inauguration, 162 tmc ft of water was lifted from Medigadda. But 63 tmc ft was let go due to floods which means only 99 tmc ft of water pumped was used. “Harish Rao needs to explain how his claim of irrigating 22 lakh acres was possible with just 99 tmc ft,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
“During the July 2022 floods, the Siripuram pumphouse at Annaram barrage was flooded. The same year, the retaining wall at Kannepalli pumphouse at Medigadda barrage collapsed flooding the facility, and in 2023 October, Medigadda barrage sank into the river bed,” he pointd out.
Responding to Uttam Kumar Reddy’s statement, Harish Rao hit back saying: “Despite presenting facts and evidence debunking your claims, you persist with the same false narrative.”
On the issue of 162 tmc ft of water being lifted at Medigadda, Harish Rao asked, “what about water lifted from Yellampalli to Mid-Manair, which is also part of the Kaleshwaram system? Why are you silent on water lifted from Lakshmi, Saraswati, Parvati, Nandi, and Gayatri pump houses?”
“Just in the first three years of the project till 2023, using these pumphouses, 868.5 tmc ft of water was lifted. If you are unaware of these facts, please consult your department’s engineers. It is a universally accepted principle in irrigation project execution that it is not possible to deliver water to the full command area in the initial phase,” Harish Rao said.
“Irrigated area rises as canal networks are gradually completed. This is the nature of irrigation projects – head works are completed first, and tail-end works follow,” he said.
Referring to the Pranahita-Chevella lift irrigation project – the precursor to the Kaleshwaram project - at Tummidihatti started by the then Congress government, Harish Rao said “during your tenure, your party started tail-end works without completing head works – a move driven by commissions rather than commitment.”
Infogrpah
Uttam Vs. Harish
Uttam says:
Water lifted from Medigadda
2019-20: 61 tmc ft
2020-21: 31.82 tmc ft
2021-22: 33 tmc ft
2022-23: 25.97 tmc ft
2023-24 – 8.93 tmc ct
Released to sea: 63 tmc ft
Water pumped from Medigadda: 99 tmc ft
Harish says
In 3 years up to 2022-23, project lifted:
162.41 tmc ft from Medigadda
172.86 tmc ft from Annaram
172.12 tmc ft from Sundilla
181.70 tmc ft from Nandi Medaram Pump House
179.41 tmc ft from Gayatri Pump House
Total: 868.5 tmc ft
