Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader M. Bhatti Vikramarka has asked the State government to halt the process of tenders taken up by the Andhra Pradesh government to execute Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project (RLIP) and expansion of Pothireddypadu head regulator to prevent 25 lakh acres “turning into a desert”.
There had been no response from Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on the issuance of GO for diversion of 11 tmc ft of Krishna water from Srisailam reservoir every day. “It’s absolutely meaningless to ask the Centre to postpone the Apex Council meeting fixed for August 5 to any date after August 20 since the process of tenders for the water diversion plans of AP would be completed by August 19,” Mr. Vikramarka said here on Tuesday.
Alleging that Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao was doing grave injustice to Telangana by keeping quiet on the AP’s plans to divert Krishna water in excess of its allocation of project-wise tie-up done by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal, the CLP leader said the former would be known as betrayer of the Telangana interests if he allowed AP to take away water in excess of allocations made. Speaking to newspersons, he alleged that Mr. Rao had sought postponement of the Apex Council meeting only to allow AP complete the tenders for RLIP.
Taking the government to task on handling the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Vikramarka said the guidelines issued by the Centre to control the COVID-19 spread were being used to control the Congress leaders in Telangana. He demanded that the government set up quarantine/isolation centres in villages, mandal centres and constituency headquarters as the virus was spreading to villages from urban areas now.
Blaming the State government’s inept handling of the pandemic for its spread, the Congress leader said he had never seen a government that had left the public health to the mercy of god.
On the attacks on Dalits in the State, the CLP leader said from Sircilla to Gajwel (Mallapur) to Rajapur the atrocities were going on unabated as those who were supposed to give protection to them under the constitutional provisions — the Police — were not acting upon the complaints. Even the Director General of Police was unmoved on the issue even after the matter was taken to his notice by the Congress party.
