Hyderabad: Animal Husbandry and Sports Minister Vakiti Srihari on Tuesday accused the Opposition BRS of politicising the Jurala water release issue and misleading farmers.
Srihari said the government was following a scientific and balanced water management policy. He said the approach aimed to protect standing crops while preserving drinking water reserves for the coming months.
He addressed a press conference at the Congress Legislature Party office alongside Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao and Congress MLAs. Rejecting BRS allegations of negligence, Srihari said officials were calibrating water distribution after considering several factors.
These included the impact of El Niño, rainfall patterns across southern India and upstream inflows from Karnataka, he said. The dispute came amid protests by farmers and BRS leaders seeking irrigation water from the Jurala project.
Jurala water release linked to Karnataka inflows
Srihari said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and ministers were maintaining consultations with the Karnataka government over water availability. According to him, elected representatives from the erstwhile Mahabubnagar region were also involved in those discussions.
The talks sought to improve upstream inflows into Jurala, Srihari said. Moreover, he maintained that the government would not compromise on the interests of Palamuru farmers. The Telangana government also approached Karnataka seeking additional Krishna water for irrigation and drinking water requirements in the Palamuru region.
Meanwhile, Jupally Krishna Rao accused the BRS of creating alarm over the Jurala water release issue for political gain. He said the government remained committed to protecting standing crops while managing available water efficiently.
Jupally had separately said the government needed to manage Jurala reserves carefully because of drinking water requirements. He also cited limited inflows and the effects of El Niño while defending the government’s approach.