In Hyderabad, BRS MLA T Harish Rao criticized Congress leaders for taking credit for the Sitarama irrigation project. He pointed out that 90 percent of the project was completed during the previous government’s rule.
During a press conference at Telangana Bhavan, Rao stated that ministers are competing to claim credit for the project. He mentioned that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy plans to take more credit on August 15. According to Rao, it was KCR who initiated the project, naming it to avoid any hurdles. Because of a change in leadership, Congress got the opportunity to inaugurate the project. Rao remarked that the ministers are acting as if they constructed the project themselves.
Rao further noted that people find it amusing that Congress leaders claimed the project was completed in just seven months. He highlighted that Congress had previously gone to court to block the project. Tummala Nageswar Rao, a former BRS minister, emphasized that the project was KCR’s dream, intended to bring Godavari water to Khammam. Previous governments had not attempted this. KCR envisioned the project to transform Khammam into a two-crop district, with Sitarama planned to handle 9,000 cusecs compared to the initially proposed 3,000 cusecs for Indira and Rajiv Sagar.
Rao criticized those who take credit for others’ achievements, describing them as parasites. He reiterated that 90 percent of the project was completed during the BRS tenure. Out of eight packages in the main canal, five were completed by the BRS government. He also noted that key hydrological and inter-State approvals were obtained during the BRS regime. Rao accused Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy of lying about securing project permissions and sarcastically suggested that Deputy CM Batti Vikramarka deserves a Nobel Prize for claiming that 1.5 lakh acres were irrigated with Rs 75 crore.
