YSRCP protests alleged injustice to Rayalaseema

Leaders of the YSR Congress Party staged a protest on Monday against what they described as injustice meted out to the Rayalaseema region by the State government led by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.

The protest followed recent remarks by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who claimed that the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project had been suspended by the Andhra Pradesh government under pressure from Telangana.

Led by former Deputy Mayor and YSRCP State youth wing office-bearer Bhumana Abhinay Reddy, the demonstrators demanded that the State government safeguard Rayalaseema’s water rights. They took strong exception to the alleged halt to the project and sought an immediate and unequivocal clarification from the government.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Abhinay said any stoppage of water amounted to a direct assault on Rayalaseema’s legitimate share of Krishna river waters. He warned that silence on the issue would result in further dilution of the State’s water rights.

He said the Lift Irrigation Project was vital for the drought-prone Rayalaseema region, which depends on the Krishna and Tungabhadra river systems. Major projects such as the High Level Canal, Low Level Canal, Srisailam Right Branch Canal, Gundrevula and Byravanathippa together have a sanctioned allocation of 133.5 tmcft. However, declining flood days and heavy siltation at the Srisailam reservoir had made upstream lifting unavoidable, he added.

Mr. Abhinay recalled that former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had conceptualised the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project to lift up to 3 tmcft of water per day from the 800-ft level of the Srisailam reservoir to meet the irrigation and drinking water needs of the region.

Tirupati Mayor B.R. Sireesha Yadav and Centre for Rayalaseema Studies president Bhuman, who also addressed the meeting, warned that the loss of even a single tmcft of water would severely impact irrigation and drinking water security in Rayalaseema.