Telangana Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy has alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government is illegally using Krishna river waters and that the BRS government led by former Chief Minister KCR has been aiding in this exploitation. He expressed deep anger over these actions that are causing serious damage to the people of Telangana, especially the farmers.
According to Uttam Kumar Reddy, the AP government is using Krishna river waters unfairly. It is diverting Telangana’s share of water through projects and supplying it to its fields. He severely criticized BRS for saying that only 200 TMC of Krishna water is enough for Telangana.
He said that when the Congress party came to power, they started arguing that Telangana should get 500 TMC of Krishna river water. He said that if the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project had been completed, the joint Mahabubnagar district would have been wonderful. He alleged that Telangana was subjected to grave injustice due to the BRS government.
He said that former Chief Minister KCR, being friendly with Jaganmohan Reddy, had helped AP in its water exploitation. He was furious that KCR did not raise his voice even though Jagan was increasing the capacity of Pothireddypadu and illegally constructing Muchumarri.
Minister Uttam alleged that Rs. 25,000 crores were spent on the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project and not even a single acre of water was provided. He said that he had brought the issue of the AP government using Krishna water excessively to the attention of the Union Minister. He clarified that he had obtained permission for 67 TMC for the Sitarama project. He also obtained permission for the Sammakka-Sarakka project.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the construction and collapse of the Medigadda barrage took place during the BRS regime, but KCR never spoke out about it. He questioned whether the National Dam Safety Committee had said that there were flaws in the design and construction of Medigadda and whether anyone would provide long-term, low-interest loans for the projects? But he expressed anger that the BRS government had inadvertently provided loans at high interest rates to satisfy the commissions.
