BRS ridicules Uttam’s argument on operating Kalwakurthy lift, Kannepally PH

HYDERABAD

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has ridiculed the argument of Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who had stated that it was not possible to lift water from Medigadda Barrage damaged due to the sinking of piers, and observed that it is not the barrage that had sunk but it is the willingness of the ruling party.

Speaking at a party meeting here on Monday, former minister for irrigation T. Harish Rao accused Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy of waiting for ‘auspicious’ time to switch on the motors of Kalwakurthy, when Andhra Pradesh had already started drawing water from Pothireddypadu Head Regulator as Srisailam reservoir was getting flood from the last week of May itself.

He asked Mr. Uttam Reddy to prove that A.P. had not drawn 65 tmc ft allocated water share of Telangana during the last water year, as the State government had failed to avail its share of Krishna water for the first time since formation of the State. On switching on the motors of the Kannepally pump house linked to Medigadda, he said over one-lakh cusecs flood water was passing by the pump house and there was no need to stop/store water in the barrage to lift water from Kannepally.

Separately, another former minister V. Prashanth Reddy said there was no link to the BRS demand for switching on motors of Kannepally pump house and sinking of some piers in Medigadda Barrage, as water could be lifted at Kannepally with minimum draw level of 93.5 meters flow in the river. It was flowing at about 96 meters level now.

He stated that there was no need to store water in Medigadda to operate Kannepally and two other upstream pump houses. He said several reservoirs, minor irrigation tanks and check-dams could be filled with water with link I and II of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.

On the claims of Mr. Uttam Reddy for achieving 283 lakh tonnes of paddy production last year, Mr. Prashanth Reddy sought to know whether it had become possible without constructing any new project or completing any pending project or de-silting any reservoir.