Hyderabad: Former minister and BRS Legislature Party Deputy Floor Leader T. Harish Rao blamed the Congress government for crop losses in Wanaparthy district, alleging that irrigation failures had left standing paddy crops without water.
Harish Rao inspected dried paddy fields in Alwal village of Peddamandadi mandal on Monday. Former minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy and other leaders from the erstwhile Palamuru district accompanied him.
During the visit, farmers showed the leaders paddy crops that had dried up shortly before harvest. Several farmers became emotional while describing their losses, and Harish Rao consoled them.
Later, addressing a farmers’ public meeting in Alwal, he accused Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of failing to ensure irrigation supplies. He alleged that the crop damage resulted from government failures rather than natural drought conditions.
Harish Rao questions irrigation failures behind crop losses in Wanaparthy
Harish Rao claimed that 250 acres of crops had dried up in Alwal village alone. He further alleged that standing crops across 25 lakh acres had suffered damage throughout Telangana. He questioned why the government had failed to operate irrigation pumps despite substantial inflows into major reservoirs.
According to Harish Rao, Srisailam received 221 TMC of water, while Jurala recorded 252 TMC. He alleged that authorities failed to operate the required pumps, leaving agricultural fields without irrigation water.
The BRS leader questioned why Krishna River water could reach Kuppam, located about 700 kilometres away, but not Wanaparthy, approximately 70 kilometres away. He referred to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s Kuppam constituency while criticising Telangana’s irrigation management.
Harish Rao also claimed that the Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme had the capacity to lift 50 TMC of water. However, he alleged that the government lifted only 18 TMC and allowed water to flow towards Andhra Pradesh. He accused Revanth Reddy of prioritising political considerations over Telangana farmers’ irrigation requirements.
BRS leader compares Krishna water use under two governments
Harish Rao claimed Telangana utilised 41 per cent of Krishna water during former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s administration. In contrast, he alleged that the state’s utilisation had declined to 25 per cent under the Congress government.
He blamed the administration for failing to lift available Krishna water despite its proximity to agricultural areas. The former minister also criticised the progress of the Palamuru-Rangareddy project.
He alleged that the present government had failed to complete excavation work that could have been carried out within a week. Harish Rao contrasted the current situation with irrigation management during the previous BRS government.
He claimed Chandrashekar Rao had instructed ministers to operate pumps and fill tanks even before floodwaters reached Jurala. According to him, those measures helped ensure irrigation supplies during the BRS administration.
Harish Rao demands water releases to protect standing crops
Addressing crop losses in Wanaparthy, Harish Rao demanded immediate operation of five pumps under the Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme. He said all five pumps should operate continuously for 24 hours to supply water to agricultural fields.
Additionally, he demanded that authorities release water from Jurala for another 15 days to protect standing crops. He urged the government to act before farmers suffered further losses.
Harish Rao also questioned the Union government’s response to the reported crop damage in Telangana. He alleged that Central teams had promptly visited Andhra Pradesh during floods but had not responded similarly to drought conditions in Telangana.
He demanded attention to the situation facing farmers whose crops had dried up because of inadequate irrigation supplies. During the Alwal meeting, Harish Rao accused the state government of neglecting distressed farmers.
He alleged that the administration was more concerned with selling 500 acres of land in Miyapur and securing commissions. The BRS leader linked the allegation to his criticism of the government’s priorities. The source statement did not provide supporting evidence for the land-related allegation.
He also criticised Revanth Reddy’s administration over irrigation water, electricity and agricultural support. Harish Rao urged farmers not to lose confidence despite the reported crop damage.
He assured them that BRS legislators would raise their concerns in the Telangana Legislative Assembly and question the government over irrigation failures. The former minister said his party would continue pressing the administration to release water and address farmers’ losses.