BRS Demands Immediate Restart of Medigadda Pumps, Says 85 Pillars Remain Intact

Former Telangana minister and BRS MLA Vemula Prashanth Reddy has accused the Congress government of misleading the public over the condition of the Medigadda Barrage, asserting that the structure remains intact despite claims that it has collapsed. He said all 85 pillars of the barrage were still standing and urged the government to utilise the Godavari water flowing downstream to fill major reservoirs, including Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP) and Nizam Sagar, instead of allowing it to go waste.

BRS leaders from the erstwhile Nizamabad district inspected drought-affected agricultural fields before visiting key locations under the Kaleshwaram project. Their tour included the Pranahita-Godavari confluence, the Godavari bridge between Sironcha and Kaleshwaram, the Kannepalli pump house and Medigadda Barrage. Police prevented their vehicles from entering the barrage, triggering a brief argument between the leaders and police personnel.

Prashanth Reddy said the barrage had withstood heavy floods and massive water inflows during the past three monsoon seasons. He alleged that the government had failed to complete even minor repairs to two or three pillars over the last three years while continuing to portray the entire project as damaged.

He claimed that nearly 22,000 cusecs of water was currently available at Medigadda, with around two TMC flowing downstream every day. Restarting the Kannepalli pumps, he said, could help replenish SRSP, Nizam Sagar, Mid Manair, Mallanna Sagar, Konda Pochamma Sagar and Ranganayaka Sagar. Pumping one TMC daily for 90 days could fill SRSP, while half a TMC daily for 36 days could replenish Nizam Sagar's 18-TMC capacity, he explained.

The MLA expressed concern over crops drying up across lakhs of acres under several lift irrigation schemes, including Gutha, Alisagar, Vempalli and Mentrajpalli, besides the Nizam Sagar ayacut. He accused the Revanth Reddy government of neglecting farmers and alleged that political considerations were preventing the utilisation of Godavari water.

He also questioned the alleged diversion of water towards Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh, pointing out that Medigadda had 22,000 cusecs against 4,000 cusecs at Thummidihatti.