Bharateeya Janata Party (BJP) Kisan Morcha national general secretary P. Sugunakar Rao has demanded that the Telangana State government should complete the Vennampalli intake well and shift the water from the Sripada Yellampalli irrigation project to the Kakatiya canal so that the water could flow into the Lower Manair Dam (LMD) reservoir to solve drinking water problem of Karimnagar, Warangal and Siddipet areas in the coming summer season.
The Sripada Yellampalli water project is having nearly seven TMCs of water at present.
Relief and rehabilitation
Had the irrigation authorities completed the land acquisition and relief and rehabilitation of the land oustees, the project would have stored 20 tmcs of water, he maintained and added another 20 and odd tmcs of water would have been lifted to various parts of the district.
Flaying the authorities for planning to shift the waters from the Yellampalli project to Hyderabad, Sugunakar Raosaid that the government should first quench the thirst of the locals such as Karimnagar, Warangal, Sircilla, Siddipet, Vemulawada and other villages before giving water to Hyderabad city from the water project.
Accordingly, he said that the government should expedite the completion of the intake well at Vennampalli for which Ministers Etala Rajender and K. Taraka Rama Rao had laid foundation stone some five months ago.
The completion of intake well would ensure water to LMD through gravity from Kakatiya canal.
Finds fault with State
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Sugunakar Rao found fault with the State government for delay in the completion of the Sripada Yellampalli project in Karimnagar district in spite of taking up works a decade ago.
Stating that the Lower Manair Dam reservoir reached its dead storage level, he said that the shifting of water from Yellampalli to LMD alone would help solve drinking water problem in the coming summer season.
Agitations
Sugunakar Rao also threatened to launch agitational programmes in the State if the Telangana government failed to fill the Lower Manair Dam with the water from Yellampalli irrigation project for the coming summer season.
BJP leaders T. Harikumar Goud, M. Narender, Mallesh Yadav and others were also present on the occasion.
