Hyderabad: Telangana Congress working president T Jagga Reddy on Wednesday said that the construction of the Kaleshwaram project began when Harish Rao was the irrigation minister, was completed under his term, and that the piers of the Medigadda barrage sunk when the then chief minister K Chandrasekhar held the irrigation portfolio. “Harish Rao said it would not be wrong even if irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy is hanged, accusing him of failing to release water from the Kannepalli pumphouse of the Kaleshwaram project. Then what should be done to Harish Rao, who is responsible for constructing a substandard barrage that collapsed? he asked.Addressing the media at Gandhi Bhavan, he said the NDSA had advised against storing water at Annaram, Sundilla, and Medigadda barrages. The decision not to store water was not taken by chief minister A Revanth Reddy or irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy. “The NDSA is a central govt organisation, not a Congress organisation. It warned that storing water could lead to the collapse of the project, potentially causing devastation in Khammam and Bhadrachalam. Despite knowing these facts, Harish is intentionally trying to mislead the people,” Jagga Reddy claimed.“Harish Rao oversaw the construction, while KCR took the key decisions. The project components collapsed due to the mistakes committed by Harish and KCR. Yet, Harish Rao is trying to blame the Congress govt and its top leaders. Harish and KCR are responsible for the substandard construction of the Kaleshwaram project. What is the point in blaming Revanth or Uttam for the mess created by Harish? he asked.He demanded that Harish Rao explain to the people of Telangana why he was not given the irrigation portfolio during the second term of the previous BRS govt after holding it during the first term. “Why did KCR decide to retain the irrigation portfolio during the second term of the BRS govt, when Harish had overseen the main work of the Kaleshwaram project while serving as irrigation minister until Dec 2018?The TPCC working president alleged that Harish was afraid that his mistakes would be exposed. “If not, Harish should ensure that KCR comes to the assembly to participate in a debate and explain to the people of Telangana what exactly led to the sinking of the piers of the Medigadda barrage. Why is Harish Rao preventing KCR from coming to the assembly?” he asked.
