Central Panel Calls Telangana Dam ‘Useless’; Political Clash Follows
This has made the dam 'useless' unless it gets fixed. The dam is a part of the Kaleshwaram Multi-Lift Irrigation Project, which belongs to the ruling party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and costs ₹80,000 crore.
Hyderabad: A special central team that checks the safety of dams is not happy with a dam in Telangana. They say part of the Medigadda (Lakshmi) barrage sank into the Godavari River last month.
This has made the dam ‘useless’ unless it gets fixed. The dam is a part of the Kaleshwaram Multi-Lift Irrigation Project, which belongs to the ruling party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and costs ₹80,000 crore.
BRS doesn’t agree with the report. They say the Central Water Commission, which reports to the central government, approved the dam.
The Minister of Telangana, KT Rama Rao, who is the chief minister’s son, thinks the report is ‘politically motivated.’ He questions why it’s coming out just before an important election.
There’s now a big fight among political parties in Telangana because of this report. The Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao, is under a lot of pressure. The BJP, the Congress, and other parties are criticizing him.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi even visited the dam and called it part of a ‘corruption-ridden’ project in Telangana.”
It may be recalled that the project was inaugurated in June 2019 by the Chief Minister KCR himself.
Billed as the world’s largest multi-stage multipurpose lift irrigation scheme, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and then Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were among the VIP guests at the grand event.
