Jeevan Reddy says drought that can be avoided by using water in Kaleshwaram

BRS General Secretary T. Jeevan Reddy was speaking to reporters in Hyderabad on Friday.

HYDERABAD

Former Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) General Secretary T. Jeevan Reddy observed that the drought conditions in Telangana are the result of the A. Revanth Reddy government’s failure to alleviate the problem by raising Godavari water using the Kaleshwaram project barrages and pumping stations to fill all possible water bodies.

Elsewhere in the country, the drought could be due to the impact of the El Nino phenomenon, but in Telangana it was purely man-made as there was every opportunity to prevent the situation by utilizing as much water as possible from the Godavari river that flowed downstream into the sea, he said at a press conference here on Friday.

He said that the Kaleshwaram project was designed to use the Godavari water in various ways – both by lifting water back to Yellampalli using the three barrages of the Kaleshwaram project with the natural flow of the river – and without pulling down the gates (gates) – and from Yellampalli itself if water was available. However, the government failed to impound the tanks even from Yellampalli whenever there was a flood, he said.

Water could be pumped from Kannepalli pumping station even now by making a cofferdam in Medigadda barrage as more than 39,000 cusecs was recorded in Godavari (from Pranahita) on October 2 (Friday). If the government took advantage of the floods and filled all the water bodies with the help of the Link-II of Kaleshwaram project – a network created from Yellampalli to Mid Manair and Sriramsagar projects, Godavari water would reach many areas, including those in the Krishna basin, and help the farming community overcome drought conditions, he said.

Both Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy are conspiring against the interests of the people because of their strong opposition to former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and the fear that full utilization of the Kaleshwaram network would only bring good name to Mr. Rao and not them.

Even the power sector has been mistreated with Genco thermal power plants facing a severe shortage of coal and its plans to distribute power from the upcoming 800 megawatt unit coming to the Singareni 2×600 MW Jaipur (Mancherial district) project. He pointed out that both the Kaleshwaram project, even partly from Link-II, and the Yadadri power plant planned and executed by the KCR government turned out to be a lifeline for the Congress government.

Published – 02 Oct 2026 20:06 IST