BRS leader T Harish Rao has urged the Telangana government to operate pumps under the Kaleshwaram project around the clock and use continuing Godavari flood flows to fill reservoirs for irrigation and drinking-water supply.
In a letter to irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday, Rao said heavy flows were continuing in the Godavari at Yellampalli and that the state should immediately lift and store the available water. He alleged that the government was failing to use the opportunity despite the river’s abundant flows.
Rao said reservoirs linked to the Kaleshwaram network had a combined storage capacity of 141 TMC. According to the figures cited in his letter, Annapurna and Ranganayaka Sagar reservoirs were at dead-storage levels. Mallanna Sagar, which has a capacity of 50 TMC, was holding about 13 TMC, while Kondapochamma Sagar, with a capacity of 15 TMC, had around 6 TMC.
He said water lifted from Yellampalli could be transferred to Mid Manair, Annapurna, Ranganayaka Sagar, Mallanna Sagar, Kondapochamma Sagar, Gandhamalla and Baswapur reservoirs. Rao claimed that filling these reservoirs could support irrigation across nearly five lakh acres and improve future drinking-water availability.
The demand comes as Telangana’s water system faces uneven conditions, with Rao referring to drought-like circumstances in several areas even as floodwaters continue in the Godavari. He urged the government not to cite El Niño conditions as an excuse and instead prioritise irrigation water for farmers.
Rao also highlighted the position of Lower Manair Dam, which he said was holding only about 11 TMC. Supplying the reservoir, he said, would support irrigation and drinking-water needs in Karimnagar, Warangal and surrounding areas.
The areas he identified as potential beneficiaries include Peddapalli, Rajanna Sircilla, Siddipet, Medak, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Hyderabad districts. The stated urban implication is that additional storage in the Kaleshwaram-linked reservoirs could help meet Hyderabad’s drinking-water requirements and support water needs in other regions.
The Kaleshwaram project network was developed during the tenure of former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Harish Rao’s appeal now places the focus on whether the state irrigation administration will activate the pumping system and transfer water from Yellampalli to the identified reservoirs. The Telangana government’s response and any operational decision on the pumps will determine the next step.
