Kannepalli pumps can be operated with present water levels: Harish Rao

HYDERABAD

Deputy Floor Leader of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the Assembly T. Harish Rao questioned Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s intent in refusing to lift floodwaters at Kaleshwaram and explained that the Kannepalli pumps were capable of operating when water reaches 93.5 metres while the present river level stands at 97.5 metres, making gate closure unnecessary.

The CM had displayed “a lack of understanding” of the project’s engineering design, the former minister alleged at a press conference here on Sunday: “Farmers are asking for water, but the Chief Minister is talking about blood. Threatening to spill the blood of political opponents and beating them with belts is not what farmers want.”.

He alleged that the Congress government was deliberately refusing to utilise available Godavari waters solely to continue its political campaign against the Kaleshwaram Project. He stated that BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao visited Medigadda and publicly proved that there were sufficient flows in the Godavari against the government’s claims that there was no water in the river.

He pointed out that the government had changed its stand on retired irrigation engineers too. It had earlier described them as experts while it was now allegedly threatening action against them after they recommended lifting available water.

Mr. Harish Rao claimed that retired engineers had never stated that Medigadda was technically unviable. Instead, they had recommended transferring water through a series of barrages to Yellampalli, a position they had also submitted before the Justice Ghose Commission. Irrigation Department officials had also informed the government that a temporary cofferdam costing approximately ₹8.5 crore would enable immediate transfer of water to Yellampalli, he noted.

He alleged that despite these technical recommendations, the government continued to keep the pumps idle because operating the system would expose the Congress government’s misinformation campaign against the Kaleshwaram project. Instead of utilising available Godavari water through Kannepalli, Devadula and Sitarama Lift Irrigation Projects, the Congress government was allowing water to flow downstream to benefit Andhra Pradesh.