The Telangana government is failing to use available Kaleshwaram water and has delayed repairs to the Medigadda barrage, aggravating drought conditions and farmer distress, senior BRS leaders alleged at a media briefing in Hyderabad on Monday. They demanded immediate repairs, the lifting of water for irrigation and relief for farmers facing crop losses.
BRS leader Errabelli Dayakar Rao and MLA D Sudheer Reddy accused the Congress government of not acting on available water in the Kaleshwaram project. They urged the administration to prioritise irrigation, drinking water and farmer welfare instead of focusing on political attacks against the previous BRS regime.
Sudheer Reddy alleged that the government had deliberately refrained from lifting water from the Kannepalli pumphouse and Medigadda barrage for political reasons, despite water being available. The allegation was made during the briefing at Telangana Bhavan and was not accompanied in the supplied report by a response from the state government.
According to Sudheer Reddy, BRS leaders had visited Kannepalli and Medigadda and urged officials to lift water when inflows were around 20,000 cusecs. He also claimed that a report by the National Dam Safety Authority indicated that water could be lifted from Kannepalli. The supplied report does not provide the relevant extract from that report or details of the conditions attached to the recommendation.
The BRS leader further alleged that the state had an opportunity to lift water for between 80 and 120 days during the previous monsoon season. Instead, he said, the water was allowed to flow downstream rather than being used for irrigation. The claim places the focus on the operational decisions governing pumping, barrage repairs and the use of available inflows, rather than only on water availability.
The dispute highlights the administrative consequences of keeping a large irrigation system partially dependent on the condition of individual structures and pumping facilities. The demands made by the BRS combine three immediate issues: restoring the Medigadda barrage, determining whether water can safely be lifted through Kannepalli and providing assistance to farmers who have suffered crop losses.
The report does not establish the current structural condition of Medigadda, the volume of water presently available for lifting, the operational status of Kannepalli or the government’s explanation for not using the water. It also does not provide details of any announced repair schedule, irrigation release plan or farmer-relief package.
The BRS asked the Congress government to take up repairs and irrigation operations immediately. The next publicly stated steps, according to the report, are the party’s demand for action on Medigadda and Kannepalli, along with relief measures for affected farmers.
