Former Major Irrigation Minister P. Sudharshan Reddy, here on Tuesday, said diversion of Singur water to Mid Manair Reservoir in Karimnagar was against the rules and the established tradition. He described the move as ‘dictatorial and unilateral’.
Expressing surprise at the silence of MPs, MLCs and MLAs at the Irrigation Board meeting over the decision to give Singur water to Mid Manair through the Sri Ram Sagar Project, he said that it was apparently to benefit the farmers of Sircilla and Siddipet. He also said that it was against the will of people of the erstwhile undivided district. At a news conference the Congress leader sought to recall that the same Government registered cases on farmers for pumping water to their fields fixing electric motors on the banks of canals. However, at present, it got down to plunder water for the interests of farmers of a couple of Assembly constituencies for the political mileage of the ruling party, he added. Advising the Government not to take unilateral decisions, Mr. Sudharshan Reddy wanted to know whether this was the gift given by the TRS leadership for giving all nine Assembly and two MP seats to it in the erstwhile undivided. The ruling party leadership is ruthlessly silent when the farmers waged struggles for two months for the release of water from Singur but now with an ulterior motive was diverting the water, he said. Appealing to the Government to take a decision to increase the height of Ali Sagar reservoir by 9 ft, he said it would benefit farmers up to Varni mandal besides giving water for drinking purposes to the residents of Bodhan town. He also appealed to farmers to intensify agitation to protect the NSP water.