Hyderabad, July 10 (Maxim News): Etela Rajender, MP from Malkajgiri, slammed the Telangana government on Friday for not activating irrigation motors despite inflows into state projects from upstream rains.
Rajender said farmers are struggling without water during the kharif season. He warned that a severe drought could follow if the government continues to delay repairs to Kaleshwaram-linked projects.
Speaking to the media in Hyderabad, Etela said Telangana comes first for him, above party and personal interest. He stated that he speaks his mind independently and is not a person who speaks on someone else’s cue.
Etela Rajender then turned his attention to the ongoing water crisis facing farmers under the SRSP canal system, arguing that agriculture without bore wells or open wells is simply not possible in that region.
Furthermore, Etela recalled his own tenure as MLA from Huzurabad. He said he had the SRSP sluice gates opened when water arrived and became a hero to his constituency’s farmers.
However, he also acknowledged that if that same water had not reached Warangal, people there would have protested against him. He used this to illustrate the complexity of water distribution decisions.
Etela Defends Kaleshwaram Benefits, Calls Congress Criticism of Project Deeply Wrong
Additionally, Etela spoke at length about Telangana’s irrigation history. He said Telangana’s statehood movement was driven by the struggle for water, funds, and self-respect.
Etela Rajender noted that Jala Yagnam, the irrigation programme launched under former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, preceded the Kaleshwaram project. He said plans to bring Pranahita river water via Tammidihatti were part of that era.
Moreover, Etela said the foundation stone for the Sripada Yellampalli Project, with a capacity of 24 TMC, was laid after he became MLA. Mid Manair Dam construction also began during that period, he claimed.
MP Rajender stressed that the Congress Party was the first to conceive the idea of bringing Kaleshwaram waters as far as Chevella, including projects such as Kondapochamma and Mallanna Sagar.
On the role of the Kaleshwaram project itself, Etela said the BRS government linked the project and routed water from Medigadda through Annaram and Sundilla to Yellampalli.
He claimed that 29 TMC of water now stored in Mid Manair came through this chain. He described Mid Maneru as the water hub of north Telangana, just as Kazipet is the railway junction of the region.
Furthermore, Etela pointed out that despite the Pochampad Project having 90 TMC capacity and LMD having 24 TMC, Huzurabad constituency did not receive adequate water for even a single crop before Kaleshwaram.
He asked whether it is not a fact that after Kaleshwaram was linked, farmers in Huzurabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, and parts of Nalgonda now harvest two full crops using combined waters from Mid Manair and Pochampad.
However, Etela clarified that he is not speaking about commissions, contracts, or design changes in the Kaleshwaram project. Instead, he said Congress leaders calling the project itself a mistake is deeply wrong.
MP Etela Rajender demanded to know why the government is delaying repairs to damaged Kaleshwaram components. He expressed anger that the government is not acting urgently despite knowing that a serious drought could be imminent. The Telangana government had not responded to Etela’s remarks at the time of this report.(Maxim News)
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