The district leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an ally of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the State, on Saturday joined the Chandrababu Naidu-bashing bandwagon, accusing the Chief Minister of meting out a raw deal to the backward Rayalaseema region.
At a media conference here, BJP leader and former MLA Katasani Rambhupal Reddy warned that the party’s district cadre would lead a ‘Separate Rayalaseema’ movement, if the region failed to get its due. It was the government’s duty to ensure that the State did not head towards another split, he said.
“A BJP delegation would soon apprise the Central and State governments on the need for construction of Siddheswaram project. If the governments do not respond, we will mop up funds on our own and build the project with the involvement of farmers,” Mr. Reddy claimed.
Picking holes in the government’s plans to ensure water supply to the parched Rayalaseema, party’s State vice-president K. Kapileswaraiah said that neither would Polavaram nor Pattiseema project augment to the irrigation water supply to Rayalaseema.
Contrary to the government’s claims that Rayalaseema would get 80 tmcft of water once the Polavaram project was completed, the BJP leaders contended that the region would hardly get 25 tmcft of water through the project, that too after completion of Dummugudem tail-end project.
“Water release from Srisailam reservoir must be stopped until its water level reaches 854 feet, or else Rayalaseema will face acute drinking water woes in summer. Neglect to the region was evident when the government released water from Srisailam, which had a dead storage level of 30 tmcft, to Nagarjunasagar, which had 130 tmcft of water then.
Though many families were displaced in Kurnool for the project, its water is not being used for the district, they resented.
Joining the Naidu-bashing bandwagon, BJP leaders allege that Rayalaseema has been meted out a raw deal
