Hyderabad: Former minister T Harish Rao alleged that the Congress govt was responsible for the drought-like conditions prevailing in parts of Telangana, claiming that it had failed to utilise available water in the Krishna and Godavari rivers.Addressing a news conference at the BRS office in Nagarkurnool district on Wednesday, Harish Rao said the situation was not due to El Nino but was a result of the govt’s failure to manage water resources. He alleged that farmers in Telangana were being forced to observe crop holidays despite water being available.On the Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme, Harish Rao claimed that only three of the five pumps were being operated and that too for around eight hours a day. Though the project could lift nearly 4,000 cusecs, only about 800 cusecs was allegedly being drawn. He questioned why the pumps were not being operated round the clock when, according to him, about 96 tmcft of water was available in the Srisailam reservoir.He alleged that Andhra Pradesh was drawing Krishna water while the Telangana govt was failing to provide water to farmers in the Palamuru region.Harish Rao also criticised the Congress govt over the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme, claiming that pumps were being operated for only eight hours despite adequate water being available in the Godavari. “The BRS govt had completed several pending irrigation projects, including Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Bhima and Koilsagar, and provided irrigation to around 6.5 lakh acres,” he said.On the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, Harish Rao said the BRS govt had spent around ₹30,000 crore, acquired land and constructed four reservoirs with a combined capacity of about 50 tmcft.
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