Giving clear indications to the Congress government in the state that he will not remain quit at home, if the ruling party attempted `politics of victimisation’ against his party and his family, former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao cautioned that he will be forced to come to streets against the failures of government.
Immediately after the Lok Sabha polls, he announced that he would stage a dharna at the Medigadda Barrage along with 10,000 people, including farmers. Alleging that it was not possible for the Congress government to protect the interests of farmers by supplying water to standing crops, he said the BRS would fight on behalf of the farming community.
Further, KCR has warned that if water is not lifted through Kannepally pump house before the flood of 20 thousand cusecs in Godavari, he will go with 50 thousand farmers and drive motorcycles. It has been clarified that once the flow of water in Godavari starts, the water can be lifted independently of Medigadda Barrage.
Interacting with farmers after inspecting damaged paddy crops in Mugdumpur of Karimnagar rural mandal on Friday, he advised the ryots not to be worried and to be courageous since the BRS would always be with them.
Demanding the State government to provide a compensation of Rs.25,000 per acre for the damaged crops, Chandrashekhar Rao went around the withered paddy fields owned by farmers Bandi Sampath, Velpula Narsaiah and Kolagoni Sampath, he also checked with them on the extent of land owned by them, crop sowed in the area, water sources and reasons for withering of the crop.
The farmers said that earlier, they used to sow crops by depending on the village tank, which would be filled with SRSP water. However, the tank had dried now as canal water was not released into it this time. Though they tried to supply water from agricultural wells, the wells too had dried out due to the drought.
Earlier, the BRS chief interacted with a farmer Egurla Shankar from Erukulla village, who told Rao that ryots from Erukulla and Mugdumpur villages used to cultivate crops by depending on SRSP canal water. However, the situation changed this time. The groundwater table had also depleted drastically, pushing the farmers into a deep crisis, he said.