TDP leaders take out rally, demand all-party meet on Babhali

Warangal: Telugu Desam Party district unit leaders have laid siege to the District Collectorate here on Monday with a demand to convene all-party meeting on Babhali project. Large numbers of TDP leaders and cadres squatted in front of the Collectorate blocking Warangal-Hyderabad highway for about two hours. They raised slogans against Congress Government. Telugu Desam Telangana Forum convener Errabelli Dayakar Rao, party senior leaders Kadiam Srihari, E Peddi Reddy, Revuri Prakash Reddy, Gundu Sudharani, Dhanasiri Anasuya, Satyavathi Rathod, the party district president A Baswa Reddy, Ch. Dharma Reddy and others participated in the agitation. The leaders addressing the gathering expressed serious concern over the consequences of Babhali project built by Maharashtra. The project would convert north Telangana region into a desert if immediate steps to curtail Maharashtra were not taken. The State Government and Congress party have been making false statements on the usage of water by Maharashtra State through Babhali project. Even Telangana Rashtra Samithi has been talking in support of Congress version on the project which was wrong, said Dayakar Rao. "We demand the State Government to conduct an all-party meeting to discuss the matter. Let the government prove that there is no danger to the region because of Babhali" he added. The TDP senior leader Srihari has appealed the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to summon the chief ministers of both Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to deliberate on the issue and to take a political decision to resolve the dispute. He opined that the Supreme Court verdict would severely affect the interests of the farmers of Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh and the government should file a review petition in court to protect State's interests. The head quarters of three-member committee and monitoring committee on Babhali were all set up in Mumbai and hence it would be difficult for Andhra Pradesh to control usage of water by Maharashtra, Srihari explained. He demanded the Union Government to hand over the job of monitoring water usage under Babhali project to Central Water Commission. Prakash Reddy wanted the government to fight against the illegal irrigation projects being built by Maharashtra on Godavari. Earlier on the day a meeting of the party leaders and workers was organised at Royal Function Hall from where the party leaders have taken out a massive protest rally to the Collectorate.