Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka addressing a public meeting at Vangaveedu village in Khammam district on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has urged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to immediately stop the diversion of 11 tmc ft of water a day through the Pothireddypadu lift system from the upper part of Srisailam reservoir.
If 11 tmc ft of water is diverted daily, farmers of the erstwhile Nalgonda and Khammam districts in Telangana will suffer severe losses and the Srisailam Project will be emptied in just 25 days, he pointed out.
Mr.Vikramarka was addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation stone for the Jawahar Lift Irrigation Scheme at an estimated cost of around ₹600 crore at Vangaveedu village in Madhira mandal of Khammam district on Sunday. Ministers N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Vakiti Srihari and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy were present.
Unequivocally opposing Andhra Pradesh government’s proposed Banakacherla project, he expressed his gratitude to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy for standing firm on ensuring that the Banakacherla and the Srisailam lift operations are halted.
He alleged that the then BJP government at the Centre in connivance with the previous Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government in the State secretly brought in an ordinance in 2014, handing over two lakh acres belonging to tribals in Bhadrachalam division to the Polavaram project.
He said the A.P. Chief Minister should reduce the height of Polavaram dam to save those two lakh acres from submergence.
He said farmers in the tail-end areas of Madhira constituency suffered immensely as water from the third zone had to first go into Andhra territory before coming back to them, something practically impossible. The TRS during its 10-year rule neglected this problem despite multiple reminders, he charged.
It is only after the Congress government came to power that the Irrigation minister shifted the villages in Madhira constituency into the Nagarjunasagar Project second zone and sanctioned ₹600-crore Jawahar Lift Irrigation Scheme to irrigate 30,000 acres, he said thanking Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy for his pro-farmer initiative.
Speedy completion
Mr. Vikramarka inspected the Sammakka Sarakka barrage and the off-take point of the Devadula Project in Kannaigudem mandal of Mulugu district on Sunday evening. He, along with Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy, held a review meeting with the project officials at the site.
He said land acquisition costs and other outstanding bills of the J Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme (JCRDLIS) totalling around ₹100 crore will be released in a phased manner to ensure its speedy completion.
Revised project cost
Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy said the revised project cost is ₹18,500 crore, of which ₹14,168 crore had been spent. An additional ₹4,331 crore was urgently required to clear contractor dues, complete delivery main encasement works and finish pending land acquisition.
Once completed, the JCRDLIS would stabilise existing ayacut, provide drinking water to rural habitations, improve crop yields and reduce migration from water-scarce areas. He has also asked the officials concerned to expedite the pending land acquisition process to complete the project works in all respects.
Published – August 11, 2025 01:38 am IST
