Holding the Congress govt responsible for water crisis in Khammam, he demanded the govt to compensate the farmers with Rs 25,000 per acre on par with farmers whose crops were destroyed due to recent floods.
Hyderabad: Former Minister and senior BRS MLA T Harish Rao launched a scathing attack on the Congress government for its failure to address the water crisis in Khammam district, leading to withering of crops. Holding the Congress government responsible for the crisis, he demanded the State government to compensate the farmers with Rs 25,000 per acre on par with farmers whose crops were destroyed due to recent floods.
Addressing the media persons at Telangana Bhavan here on Monday, Harish Rao expressed deep concern over the drying up of crops in Khammam district, despite the Krishna River being in full flow. He stated that though the Palair reservoir canal got breached on September 1, the Congress government left it unattended for the past 22 days which led to wastage of water and massive crop loss.
“Though Nagarjuna Sagar project is full, the crops under its ayacut are wilting. The negligence of the Congress government is destroying the livelihood of farmers,” he said. He criticised the Congress government for failing to act despite having three Ministers from Khammam district, asking whether this is the reward for the district that gave nine MLAs to the Congress. He observed that the Congress government is good at destruction in the name of HYDRA, but not at construction and repairs of irrigation projects that concern lakhs of people.
The former Minister questioned why, despite Chief Minister Revanth Reddy inaugurating the Sitarama project, water is still not being supplied to the farmers of Palair. He accused the Congress of being indifferent to the plight of the farmers, with protests erupting across Khammam and farmers besieging Nagarjuna Sagar Project offices in various constituencies. “The government is in deep slumber, while farmers are in distress,” he lamented.
Harish Rao also slammed the Congress government for failing to register FIRs against attackers who targeted the BRS leaders during their visit to Khammam. He also condemned the attack on BRS MLA V Sunita Lakshmareddy’s house in Narsapur. He warned officials against getting too comfortable with the current regime, reminding them of the fate of such officials in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Further, he accused the State government of using the HYDRAA initiative as a political diversion, while lakhs of acres of crops were drying up and dengue fever was spreading across the State. “Law and order has completely failed, and people are suffering while the government plays politics,” he remarked.
Harish Rao urged the government to take swift action to save the remaining crops and address the farmers’ grievances, warning of dire consequences if they continued to neglect their responsibilities.
