Congress demands barrage at Tummidihatti

Hyderabad: Congress leaders are on a mission to spread awareness about the corruption involved in the irrigation and drinking water projects in Telangana. Congress leaders have demanded for a CBI probe into the expenditure, payments of bills and contracts pertaining to the Kaleshwaram project and the Mission Bhagiratha.

Congress MPs N. Uttamkumar Reddy, A. Revanth Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy along with other senior leaders visited the Kaleshwaram project on Monday.

Speaking with the media after inspecting the ongoing works at Kautala mandal in Asifabad district, the TPCC president N. Uttamkumar Reddy said, “The TRS government is spending crores of rupees on irrigation and drinking water projects. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has jacked up the cost of the Kaleshwaram and Mission Bhagiratha projects. This is nothing but huge corruption involved in spending public money. If the barrage at Tummidihatti is constructed, the Pranahita water would flow through gravity canals and this would bring down the cost of the project.”

CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka said, “Congress designed the Pranahita-Chevella project at a cost of Rs 38,000 crore and completed works worth Rs 10,000 crore. Had this project been completed, it would have benefited 16 lakh acres of agriculture and provided drinking water to over 80 locations in Telangana.”

The leaders accused the CM of corruption as he redesigned the Kaleshwaram project with an estimated cost of over Rs1 lakh crore and the other project called Mission Bhagiratha at Rs 50,000 crore.

CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka, Shabbir Ali and former MPs Mallu Ravi, Konda Vishveshwar Reddy, Suresh Shetkar, former minister Ponnala Laxmaiah and other senior Congress leaders reached Kagajnagar by the Telangana Express this morning and visited Tummidihatti project site. They criticised the TRS government for ignoring the cost-effective Babasaheb Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella project.