Congress does not have a roadmap to tackle El Nino crisis in Telangana, says BJP

BJP leader Gudur Narayana Reddy criticized the Congress government for failing to prepare Telangana for the worsening El Nino crisis, saying it has severely affected the erstwhile Nalgonda district, among other districts in the state.

In his statement here, he said that the government has neither a comprehensive water management strategy nor a long-term plan to protect the state from prolonged drought. Baswapur reservoir and its tributary lakes are one of the worst-hit by the Congress government’s mismanagement.

He said scientific bodies had warned months ago that Telangana might suffer the prolonged impact of El Nino, but the Congress government was wasting precious time instead of acting decisively to secure the state’s water resources.

Mr. Narayana Reddy requested the government to ensure continuous pumping of Godavari waters when river levels allow and maximize storage in all reservoirs, balance reservoirs, tanks and irrigation structures across the State. He said the government should keep all existing pumping systems running 24 hours a day wherever technically possible.

“While lakhs of Godavari water continues to flow downstream, the Congress government continues to be paralyzed by indecision. It must immediately resolve all technical and administrative issues related to the Medigadda dam, operate the Kannepalli Pump House on a continuous basis when river levels allow it,” he said.

Mr. Narayana Reddy also questioned the government’s aggressive campaign to attract investments in artificial intelligence and data centers without adequately addressing future water requirements. “The Congress government is busy inviting global tech companies to set up data centers in Telangana. Before making such commitments, it needs to answer honestly whether it can guarantee adequate water supply to these highly concentrated water utilities,” he said.