Hyderabad: Former minister T Harish Rao demanded the state govt to lift the Godavari water from Devadula lifts as promised by the state govt despite having water in the river. He accused the Congress govt of deliberately denying irrigation water to farmers despite the availability of adequate Godavari water, alleging that administrative negligence had pushed large parts of the erstwhile Warangal district into an avoidable drought.Addressing a news conference at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Harish Rao said the present crisis was “not a drought caused by El Niño, but a drought created by the Congress govt.”Recalling the BRS news conference held on July 12, Harish Rao said the party had demanded that the govt immediately operate the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme pumps. He said that the very next day, ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy, Bhatti Vikramarka and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy visited the project and announced that 38 TMC of water would be lifted to fill 22 reservoirs under the Devadula project, prompting farmers to begin transplantation. But“On July 13, the ministers announced that all ten pumps would operate. Even till yesterday, only five pumps were functioning. Whenever ministers visit, seven pumps are switched on for display, but once they leave, only three pumps remain operational,” he alleged.Harish Rao pointed out that farmers across Shayampet, Bhimadevarapally, Elkathurthy and several other parts of Warangal district were staging protests demanding irrigation water.Questioning the government’s inaction, he said that Sammakka Barrage, constructed during the BRS govt , currently has sufficient water storage and receives substantial inflows from the Godavari River. Despite the availability of water, he said, the government had failed to operate all the pumps under the Devadula project.Harish Rao questioned why the government was not fully utilising the Devadula system when there was no technical impediment.“There is no NDSA issue here. Water is available, pumps are available and power is available. Then why is the government refusing to lift water?” he asked.He alleged that while neighbouring AP was making every effort to utilise available Godavari waters, the Telangana govt was allowing precious water to flow downstream instead of protecting the interests of Telangana’s farmers. The ex-irrigation minister said, about 105 TMC of Godavari water had already flowed past the Sammakka Barrage towards AP , whereas the govt had lifted only 1.9 TMC, despite having the capacity to lift nearly 12 TMC during the same period.“The entire world is conserving every drop of water, but this government is allowing Telangana’s water to flow away. If even a fraction of the available water had been lifted, all 22 reservoirs under Devadula could have been filled within the last 50 days,” he said.Demanding immediate corrective action, Harish Rao urged the govt to operate all ten Devadula pumps, fill all 22 reservoirs, and ensure irrigation and drinking water supply to 3.17 lakh acres under the project.Former Ministers Satyavathi Rathod, Kadiyam Srihari Rajayya and Laxma Reddy, MLC Ravinder Rao, former MLAs Peddi Sudarshan Reddy, Aaruri Ramesh and Ala Venkateshwar Reddy, along with senior BRS leaders, were present at the press conference.ends/
