Congress govt brought drought in Telangana: KTR

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao alleged on Monday that the Congress government in Telangana brought drought in the state with its inefficiency.

He slammed the government for its mishandling of the agricultural crisis in the state and demanded immediate relief measures for distressed farmers.

The former minister also objected to attributing drought-like situations in the state to nature, stating that these conditions were brought by the Congress government, not by nature.

KTR, who visited Nalgonda district on Monday and interacted with few farmers, stated that the looming agricultural crisis is the result of mismanagement by the current Congress government.

He criticised the government for not prioritising farmer issues while engaging in political activities.

KTR questioned the sincerity of the state chief minister and his colleagues for failing to visit farmers and provide assurance.

He also lamented that around 200 farmers have committed suicide due to the mismanagement of the agriculture issues by the Congress-led state government.

KTR pointed out that the Congress government is unable to provide quality free power to farmers, whereas for the past 10 years, every farmer had uninterrupted 24x7 free power.

He challenged ministers who claimed there were no power cuts in the state to visit farmers in the fields and assert the same in front of them if they had the courage. He accused the Congress government of trying to portray KCR as a failed leader by labeling the Kaleshwaram project as a failure.

KTR highlighted that the government's negligence in repairing the Medigadda project led to the withering of lakhs of acres of crops.

He claimed that following KCR's field visit on Sunday, the government became apprehensive and, with the help of the same Kaleshwaram project's mega motors, started lifting water from the Nandi Pump House and releasing it to farmers in Karimnagar.

KTR emphasised that similar efforts should have been made earlier.

He questioned whether 120 days were not enough to initiate repairs and provide irrigation water to lakhs of farmers.

KTR demanded immediate relief measures for distressed farmers in the state and called for financial assistance of Rs 25,000 per acre for farmers who have lost their crops due to lack of power and irrigation water supply.

KTR visited two farmer families in Mushampally village in Nalgonda district.

KTR interacted with them and supported one farmer named Mallaiah Yadav with Rs 1 lakh. Yadav lost his 8 acres of crop due to lack of water supply and power supply.

Yadav's video went viral on social media a month ago, and moved by his anguish, KTR had promised that he would personally visit him soon.