Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy at WALAMTARI in Hyderabad on Thursday as Minister for Panchayat Raj D. Seethakka (right) and D-G of the institute M. Anitha (left) look on.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
HYDERABAD
Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday vowed to restore the past glory of the Water and Land Management Training and Research Institute (WALAMTARI) here. He assured that the State Government would grant necessary additional funds to resume the institute’s core functions, including training and research in irrigation and land management.
Mr. Uttam Reddy visited the institute along with Minister for Panchayat Raj D. Seethakka, Mahabubabad MP P. Balram Naik and other senior officials. WALAMTARI Director General M. Anitha presented a detailed overview of the institute’s history, activities and challenges.
The Minister expressed shock to learn that WALAMTARI, established in 1983 as a World Bank-aided project and recognised as one of the four apex training institutions in Telangana, was not conducting training programmes on a regular basis. Officials informed him that except for salary allocations, no funds were released in the recent years for training, research and infrastructure development.
Blaming the previous BRS Government for the institute’s neglect, Mr. Uttam Reddy said WALAMTARI was reduced to a symbolic entity despite its vast infrastructure, skilled workforce and strategic importance in training irrigation engineers, agriculture officers and farmers. He stated that the irrigation department functioned in an ad hoc manner under BRS rule, but the Congress government was streamlining the system and making its functioning more structured.
He instructed the institute’s authorities to immediately resume induction, refresher and specialised training programmes for engineers and agriculture officers. He would write to all departments encouraging them to utilise WALAMTARI’s services.
The Minister inspected several wings of the institute and reviewed infrastructure including computer labs, training halls and the hostel complex. He expressed concern over encroachments on the institute’s land. He directed the Director General to send a detailed report on all issues plaguing the institute. He supported the proposal to construct a boundary wall around the institute to prevent further encroachments.
As part of its expansion, WALAMTARI is being proposed to be designated as a “Centre of Natural Farming” to conduct master-level training programmes for scientists and farmers.
Published – April 10, 2025 09:42 PM is
