Hyderabad, Sep 22 (PTI) Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao was stopped on Tuesday while on his way to meet farmers in Jogulamba Gadwal district who have been demanding the release of irrigation water from the Jurala project on the Krishna river.
Rao was stopped at Jadcharla near here and taken into preventive custody by the police.
Speaking to reporters at Jadcharla, he faulted the Congress government for not releasing the water, though crops were withering away.
He said the government should have counselled farmers not to cultivate water-intensive crops like paddy due to deficit rainfall from the impact of the El Nino weather pattern.
Not releasing water while crops are growing is unfair, he said.
He demanded that the state government either implement the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) or introduce a crop insurance scheme as promised by the Congress before the elections.
Rao said the farmers would not have suffered so much if the PMFBY had been implemented.
BJP would stand with the farmers seeking release of water from the project, he said.
Several BRS leaders and workers were taken into preventive custody across Jogulamba Gadwal district in Telangana on September 21 after they protested, demanding the release of irrigation water from the Jurala project in Krishna district.
Noting that the capacity of the Jurala project is over nine TMC, state Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao has said about three TMC of water is in silt, while another three TMC is meant for meeting drinking water needs till the end of June, 2027.
Responding to BRS criticism, the minister sought to know why the previous BRS government did not build reservoirs for additional water storage.
He said the state government is also in talks with the Karnataka chief minister (D K Shivakumar) for the release of water from Almatty and Narayanpur projects.
Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar condemned the police preventing Ramchander Rao from visiting the project and meeting the farmers and demanded immediate release of water to save the crops. PTI SJR KH
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