BRS Offers to Shoulder Responsibility for Kannepally Pumping, Demands Immediate Resumption

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has offered to take full responsibility for any damage arising from the operation of the Kannepally pumphouse, a part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), and urged the Telangana government to resume pumping water immediately.

At a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Monday, senior BRS leaders—Suryapet MLA and former Minister G. Jagadish Reddy, and former MP B. Vinod Kumar—challenged the State government's stance, which cites safety concerns based on recommendations from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA). Reddy stated that BRS president and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is willing to provide a written undertaking if required.

Reddy argued that the Kannepally pumphouse can be operated safely and that the government has an opportunity to store up to 150 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water in the Kaleshwaram project reservoirs. He also alleged that engineers have informed that the motors have not been operated for nearly a year.

Vinod Kumar expressed surprise at recent statements made by a Minister regarding the Kaleshwaram project. He dismissed concerns that releasing water could threaten the temple town of Bhadrachalam, recalling that during major floods in 2021, when around 29 lakh cusecs of water flowed through the Godavari river, no damage was reported there.

He urged the government to stop sand mining at the barrages and halt the movement of sand-laden trucks, instead focusing on lifting and storing water through the Kannepally pumphouse.