Hyderabad: Senior Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader T Harish Rao on Monday, October 12, accused the Congress government in Telangana of turning a drought-like situation into a farm crisis through poor planning on power and irrigation.
“This is not a natural drought. It is a crisis created by the Congress government’s failure to generate power and operate irrigation pumps,” the former minister told reporters at Telangana Bhavan.
The government had ignored El Nino warnings for nine months, said Rao.
Meeting confusion
Farmers were asked to gather at Rythu Vedikas at 11 am for a meeting with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Rao said. The programme was repeatedly rescheduled and farmers were finally told the Deputy Chief Minister would attend instead.
“Is the government playing games with farmers?” he asked. He questioned why the Chief Minister was in Goa and ministers were in Delhi while farmers waited for answers.
The BRS leader also objected to advice against sowing in the Rabi season. The government has asked farmers to avoid water-intensive paddy this Rabi and shift to drought-resistant crops, pulses and oilseeds.
“If farmers do not cultivate their land, how will they survive?” Rao asked. He demanded an alternative plan and support for Dalit, tribal and other poor families who depend on farming.
Farm labourers from Palamuru and Jogulamba Gadwal were migrating to Karnataka for work, he said. He cited a road accident involving migrant workers from Gadwal, many of them Dalits, in which some reportedly died. The BRS government had brought such migrants home, he said.
Power and pumps
Many areas were getting only six to seven hours of power, the Siddipet MLA said, and crops were drying while farmers protested at substations. He asked why coal stocks had not been built up from the Naini mine and why power purchase agreements had not been signed in advance, as other states had done. He alleged the state could not now buy power even at high prices.
“Whenever there is a shortage of coal, electricity or water, the government blames El Nino. What is the connection between El Nino and the failure to maintain coal stocks?” he asked.
He accused the government of not using available Krishna and Godavari water. Devadula pumps near Sammakka Sagar ran only eight hours a day and repeated switching had damaged bearings in two motors, he alleged, while also questioning the under-use of the Kannepalli pump house.
Running all five Kalwakurthy pumps round the clock could irrigate large parts of Palamuru, he said. Completing pending Palamuru-Rangareddy works could have stored about 50 TMC of water.
The Singur project, which supplies Sangareddy, Medak, Kamareddy and Hyderabad, held about 29 TMC last year, Rao said. It now has about three TMC, including one TMC of dead storage, because promised repairs remain incomplete, he alleged.
Water for breweries
Rao questioned the allocation of water to beer and liquor units during the shortage. He also criticised the non-bailable cases filed against 14 farmers who allegedly opened Jurala gates to save their crops.
“If farmers try to save their crops, cases are filed against them. But when water is reportedly allocated to beer companies during a shortage, why is there no similar accountability?” he asked.
He demanded the release of pending Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima funds. Families of farmers who died since August had not received insurance payouts, he alleged. The BRS leader also sought a comprehensive action plan, jobs for labourers and fair water allocation, rather than letters to the Centre.
