Hyderabad: Stating the Congress govt was blaming El Nino for shortage of irrigation water and power in Telangana, former minister T Harish Rao said it was not a drought caused by nature, but by the Congress govt’s failure.Speaking at a media conference at Telangana Bhavan, Harish Rao said irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy had made incorrect claims in the assembly about Telangana’s use of Srisailam water.“Uttam Kumar Reddy said Telangana used 84 tmcft from Srisailam this year. If 84 tmcft was actually used, where did that water go? Which reservoirs were filled? Which fields received it?” he asked. He said Telangana’s major projects drawing water from Srisailam include Kalwakurthy and Palamuru-Rangareddy. “Palamuru pumps have been kept idle for three years. In Kalwakurthy, only around 8 tmcft has been lifted so far. How can the govt claim that Telangana used 84 tmcft?” he asked.Harish Rao said the Central Water Commission figures showed that Telangana had recorded its lowest utilisation of Krishna water in recent years under the Congress govt.The BRS leader said that when sufficient water was available, Telangana had utilised 31%, 35.8% and 45% during earlier years under the BRS govt. In 2024-25, while AP utilised around 71.5%, Telangana utilised only around 28.4%, he claimed.“In 2025-26, Telangana’s utilisation fell further to around 25%. When Telangana has a share of around 36%, what is the point if the govt cannot even utilise it?” Harish Rao asked.The BRS leader said that during the current water crisis, AP had utilised around 83 tmcft, while Telangana, including for Hyderabad’s drinking water requirement, had utilised only around 43 tmcft.He demanded that the state govt lift water from Medigadda towards Ellampalli wherever technically and legally permissible and operate all available pumps at Kalwakurthy, Palamuru, Nettampadu, Bhima, Koilsagar and other irrigation projects.
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