Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao alleged that Congress govt was not releasing the water from Jurala for the Mahbubnagar farmers despite sufficient water being available in the Jurala project.Speaking to the media at Telangana Bhavan on Monday, KTR said farmers were clearly stating that they were facing difficulties even though water was available at Jurala. He alleged that while AP was drawing water from projects constructed using flood waters, Telangana was not being supplied water even to projects built on the basis of its allocated assured waters.“Of the 248 TMC of Krishna water received by Telangana this year, the state has utilized only 28 TMC,” he said.KTR alleged that CM Revanth Reddy, who describes himself as a son of Palamuru, had become an adversary of the farmers of the region. Referring to the situation as the result of an “El Congo” rather than El Nino, he criticised the govt for its handling of irrigation water.He condemned the arrests of BRS leaders V Srinivas Goud, Niranjan Reddy and others who had gone to raise farmers’ concerns. “The govt cannot suppress the issue through arrests. If even one acre under Jurala dries up, the Congress govt will be responsible,” he said.KTR warned that the BRS would launch a major agitation if the govt did not change its stand and said party workers would consider laying siege to government offices.He appealed to the govt to keep politics aside and give priority to farmers’ interests. He demanded that the Kannepalli and Narlapur pumps be switched on and urged the govt to negotiate with Karnataka to secure 10 TMC of water to protect standing crops.KTR also said the govt could take action if there were any irregularities committed by BRS leaders while they were in power. “If we have committed any mistakes, the Congress govt in power can take whatever action is necessary,” he said, while opposing what he described as political drama over land issues.On allegations concerning the assets of the KCR family, KTR said he had challenged the govt to order a sitting judicial inquiry but alleged that there had been no response so far.He also criticised the Chief Minister’s proposed visit to Sircilla, asking what issues he would address there. KTR questioned whether the CM would speak about alleged weavers’ suicides and the non-payment of Rythu Bandhu benefits.Referring to the development undertaken in Sircilla, KTR said, “Perhaps the CM Revanth Reddy is coming to Sircilla after seeing the development there and wants to implement the same in Kodangal.”KTR further demanded that Revanth Reddy apologise over the CM ‘s statement in the Assembly regarding alleged encroachment of 8,000 acres in Sircilla. He said Revanth Reddy should either identify those responsible for the alleged encroachments or apologise for making false allegations.ends/
