Telangana Congress president, A. Revanth Reddy demanded Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan order an inquiry into the sinking of some pillars of the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) as the State government was trying to hush it up, blocking the entry of media and other political parties going for inspection.
Speaking to the media in New Delhi, he said the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) should also probe into the allegations of corruption in the Kaleshwaram project as the corrupt practices were exposed with the sinking of pillars of a mega project that was constructed with over ₹1 lakh crore.
Demanding that ministers K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao go to the barrage, he said a delegation of the Congress would also join to see and analyse the damage. They should explain what went wrong if they believed quality was not compromised during the project construction, he said. He said people believed KCR’s family had made money in the project, and that is what Congress MP Rahul Gandhi reiterated during his Telangana tour.
Mr. Reddy mocked Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for claiming it to be a mega project and within a few years the pumps worth hundreds of crores were submerged and now the pillars were sinking. “This is what happens when KCR turns himself into an engineer, ignoring the threats raised by engineers in project construction,” he said.
The Congress president also asked why the State government was not allowing anyone to go near the project, including the media, to report on the damage. “You arranged buses for outsiders to take them to the project on an excursion but the same project was engulfed by the police when the pumps were submerged and pillars sank,” he claimed, asking what is the CM trying to hide.
Amit Shah and Kishan Reddy should visit
Mr. Reddy also demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy, who had been accusing the CM of turning Kaleshwaram into an ATM for himself, visit the project immediately and inspect the poor quality of the work. He alleged that the BJP would not respond to this as both parties were working together in Telangana.
Bhatti questions KCR’s silence
Congress Legislature Party leader Bhatti Vikramarka questioned the silence of Chief Minister KCR on the pillars sinking at Medigadda. “KCR took all the credit for the project and claimed he had designed it. Now that the engineering faults and poor quality are sinking the pillars, the Chief Minister is not responding,” he argued.
