Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar in Hyderabad on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has termed the comments made by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former minister K.T. Rama Rao on the Kaleshwaram project, particularly its three barrages, as “highly irresponsible” and “lacking common sense”. The comments were part of their practice of distorting facts.
Speaking to newspersons here on Sunday after holding a review meeting on irrigation projects, the Minister said that former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was solely responsible for the sinking of Medigadda Barrage piers and problems in the other two barrages as he has repeatedly claimed to have redesigned and re-engineered the project.
Mr. Uttam Reddy pointed out it was the BRS government that was in office when the Medigadda barrage sinking incident took place on October 21 and only 47 days after that, the Congress party had assumed office in Telangana. He sought to know why the previous government led by the BRS did not utter a single word on the incident for 47 days. He also suggested that Mr. Rama Rao give information to the Justice P.C. Ghose Commission of Inquiry along with proof, if they had any suspicion regarding the Medigadda incident.
Accusing the previous government of destroying the irrigation sector in the State, Mr. Uttam Reddy said it was regular practice for the BRS to distort facts and it was their government that had pushed the State’s finances into crisis by constructing projects just for kickbacks. On a sarcastic note, he said the achievement of the previous government was creating irrigation potential for 94,000 acres by spending ₹94,000 crore on Kaleshwaram project.
The Minister stated that the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), established by an Act of Parliament, has the expertise to ensure the safety of irrigation structures and projects. Based on expert recommendations, water is not being stored in the three barrages, and the pump houses linked to them are not in use.
He reiterated that storing water at Medigadda could lead to significant loss of property and life, further endangering the Sammakka Barrage at Thupakulagudem and the Sitram Project at Dummugudem downstream. This could result in the submergence of Bhadrachalam town and 44 other villages.
he Minister made it clear that the government had a vision to make use of the Kaleshwaram network as funds had been borrowed by mortgaging Telangana’s future. The government is currently repaying ₹15,000 crore annually in interest and partial principal, even though the project is not complete. Upon completion, requiring an additional ₹47,000 crore, the yearly repayment will increase to ₹25,000 crore.
