Intensifying the effort to fight against the Telangana government over the alleged corruption in the construction of Kaleshwaram project and recent submergence of pumps due to floods and heavy rains, State BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary seeking permission to visit the project site.
Mr. Sanjay, in the letter written on Sunday, said that along with him, party leaders and experts would visit the site and assess the loss due to floods.
“On behalf of TS BJP, we wish to inform you that we are particularly alarmed and deeply concerned about the damage to the pump houses in Kaleshwaram irrigation project. All we are depending on are media reports, where information is not comprehensive and limited to the contractor’s version or the government’s claims. Kaleshwaram is a mega irrigation project constructed with several thousands of crores which belong to the public,” he said in his letter.
“We have decided to visit the project site mainly to allay our fears and our anxieties and also the various doubts and suspicions that are circulating in public domain. We are affirming that our attempt is not to politicise the issue. We are well aware that the damage is caused due to heavy rains. Over the years there are several such instances where political parties visited projects or places affected due to one reason or the other. For instance, when rains caused damage to the turbines in the Srisailam project in 1998, opposition parties visited the project site and assessed the situation,” said the BJP president recalling that during 2004-2009, when there were allegations of corruption, and faulty tenders in Jalayagnam, the then government held discussions at all the project sites in question with officials fielding questions from political parties, irrigation experts and the common man.
“We are planning to visit Kaleshwaram project site in the first week of September. We will be a team of not more than 30 including MPs, MLAs, former ministers, irrigation experts and senior leaders of our party. It would be in the fitness of things that you allow the media to accompany us. We request you to please ensure that senior officials of the irrigation department and contractors are present on the day you permit us to visit the project to clear our doubts,” said Mr. Sanjay in his letter.
