Give KCR Musi water bath: Bandi Sanjay Kumar to people

Bhongiri/Hyderabad: Telangana BJP Chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Friday asked people to tie Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to a tree and get him bathed in the Musi water flowing in their village to make him experience how the poor are suffering.

He held an interaction programme 'Kalushyampai Racha Banda' (village meeting on pollution) at Pedda Ravulapalli village of Bhongiri Assembly constituency, on the fourth day of his 'Praja Sangrama Yatra'.

The Karimnagar MP lashed out at KCR for backtracking on his promise of cleansing river Musi; he assured to invest Rs 4,000 crore to make the Hussainsagar water 'as clean as coconut water'.

Bandi said the CM is enjoying his days at Pragati Bhavan and at his farmhouse, while crops are being destroyed due to polluted Musi water and taking a toll on the people's health and livelihood.

Villagers explained to Sanjay how polluted river water contaminated their food, crops got damaged and caused health issues to people.

Expressing anguish at this, Bandi wondered why KCR was unmoved by the plight of villagers who were losing crops and suffering health problems. He recalled that during the previous NDA regime under former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, the Centre had released Rs 344 crore for cleansing the Musi. "Originally, known as River Muchikunda, Musi was a living river. But, along with Hyderabad about 150 villages abutting the river have been facing the pollution threat," he pointed out.

Bandi said "after KCR came to power, he announced that he would constitute Musi River Front Corporation and allot it Rs 4,000 crore. He had promised to beautify the riverfront along the lines of the Sabarmati in Gujarat; but he has not taken any step in that direction. While he spent Rs 1.3 lakh crore on constructing the Kaleshwaram project only to bring water to his farmhouse, he did not spend even a single rupee on cleansing the Musi," he charged.

Bandi accused the KCR government of indulging in indiscriminate borrowing of loans through various corporations and resorting to loot, thus destroying the State's financial backbone. "The per capita debt burden has mounted to Rs 1.3 lakh," he asserted.

He also charged the government with diverting Central funds and not implementing central schemes – whether free distribution of rice or employment guarantee scheme. Though the Centre released funds for the Musi cleansing, the government remained a mute spectator when industrial effluents were let out into the river, damaging crops and health of people at stake, he alleged.

"I am sending a bottle of polluted Musi river to the CM. If KCR comes here, tie him to a tree and give him a bath with the Musi river. Hopefully, at least, he will realise the magnitude of the problem," Bandi remarked.