Hyderabad: Calling the prevailing drought a “government-created artificial drought which is not a natural calamity as being claimed by Congress’ ministers”, BRS chief and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said that due to mismanagement of water, non-supply of quality power, and non-disbursal of Rythu Bandhu crop input assistance crops in 15 to 20 lakh acres have dried-up across the state.
On Friday, April 5, Rao visited the villages in Karimnagar and Rajanna-Sircilla districts, where crops have dried up due to lack of irrigation.
Addressing the media in Sircilla, Rao said that the state government had released 50 tmcft of water from Godavari through Medigadda as per the engineers, only to defame and put the blame on him.
“I had stated earlier that through the Kaleshwaram project Karimnagar district will have permanent availability of water. The people of Karimnagar also reaped the fruits of the project through the Upper Manair, Kakatiya Flood Canal, and Yellampalli projects for five years. The people have seen lakhs of tonnes of food grains being produced due to enough water availability. Within four months people are watching their crops getting dried up. If you are unable to lift water from Godavari River, let me bring 50,000 farmers, crush you under their feet, and lift water from Medigadda,” Rao warned the Congress leaders.
KCR targets Komatireddy
Claiming that the bund of the Mid Manair project had been breached in the past due to the faulty works executed by a contracting firm related to minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Rao said that the then BRS government was not keen on putting Reddy behind bars, because the priority was to give water to the farmers.
Reiterating that BRS had submitted the list of farmers who have committed suicide in the last four months within four minutes, Rao demanded that each of the families of those farmers be given an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh.
He demanded the state government to declare Rs 500 as a bonus for quintal paddy, and Rs 25000 per acre as crop loss compensation for the farmers who lost their Rabi crops, also reminding the Congress government of its election promise of waiving off crop loans to the tune of Rs 2 lakh on December 9, if voted to power.
Also criticising Congress leader KK Mahender Reddy for his remarks on the weavers that they could sell condoms and papads if they couldn’t find work, Rao claimed that the state government has destroyed the lives of Sircilla weavers by halting the orders for Bathukamma sarees.
Water tankers in Hyderabad
Questioning why the water tanker business was flourishing in Hyderabad presently, Rao demanded the state government to provide free drinking water to the entire city free of cost and also to implement Mission Bhagiratha, which he said, was not being done by the Congress government.
Dismissing BJP as a non-entity in Telangana presently, Rao said that the saffron party’s performance in the previous elections, and that BJP looking for BRS leaders to contest on their behalf showed its plight.
“KCR has set out and will not stop. Wherever farmers will face problems I’ll go and land there like an eagle,” he declared.
Phone tapping
Answering a media query at his party office in Sircilla during his tour of Karimnagar and Rajanna-Sircilla districts on Friday, he reminded that he was the chief minister of Telangana for ten years and that he will certainly clarify the phone tapping issue.
He said that he would be disclosing the details related to the phone-tapping allegations against the BRS government in a couple of days and that the facts would come out.
