BJP Ramchander Rao Arrested While Heading to Meet Jurala-Affected Farmers

Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao was detained by police on Tuesday while he was travelling to Jogulamba Gadwal district to meet farmers protesting the non-release of irrigation water from the Jurala project on the Krishna River. Police stopped him near Jadcherla and took him into preventive custody.

Speaking to reporters at Jadcherla before being detained, Ramchander Rao accused the Congress government of failing to respond to the worsening situation faced by farmers, with standing crops drying up due to the shortage of irrigation water.

He said the government should have prepared farmers for the consequences of the rainfall deficit linked to El Niño and advised them against cultivating water-intensive crops such as paddy. However, once farmers had already invested in cultivation, refusing to provide irrigation water was unjust, he said.

Ramchander Rao also demanded that the state government implement the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), citing the Congress party's election promise to provide greater protection to farmers. If the central crop insurance scheme could not be implemented, he suggested that Telangana introduce its own crop insurance programme.

According to him, effective implementation of PMFBY could have offered significant financial relief to farmers dealing with crop losses. He also assured farmers campaigning for the release of water from Jurala that the BJP would support their demand.

The latest detention comes amid continuing political activity over the Jurala water issue. On September 21, several BRS leaders and workers were taken into preventive custody after staging a protest in Jogulamba Gadwal district demanding irrigation water from the project.

Meanwhile, Telangana Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao said Jurala has a storage capacity of more than nine TMC, but the project is currently constrained by limited water availability. He said nearly three TMC is effectively unavailable due to silt, while another three TMC must be preserved to meet drinking water requirements until June 2027.

Jupally also questioned why the previous BRS government had not constructed additional reservoirs to improve water storage capacity.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar condemned the detention of Ramchander Rao and demanded his immediate release. He also urged the state government to release irrigation water from Jurala without delay to protect farmers' crops.