"Clueless, inefficient, incompetent": BRS leader targets Telangana govt over water crisis in Hyderabad

BRS spokesperson Putta Vishnuvardhan Reddy on Thursday criticised the Telangana government over the drinking water crisis in Hyderabad and rural areas, claiming that over 15,000 water tankers were being supplied in the city. He also questioned the delay in the Sunkishala drinking water project and sought to know the government's contingency plan ahead of summer.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) spokesperson Putta Vishnuvardhan Reddy on Thursday criticised the Telangana government over the drinking water situation in Hyderabad, alleging that the crisis had deepened in the city and rural areas of the state, and questioned Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's preparedness to tackle the shortage. Speaking to ANI, Reddy claimed that Hyderabad was witnessing a daily demand of over 15,000 water tankers and warned that the situation could worsen as summer approaches.

"The drinking water crisis has deepened in the city of Hyderabad. It's not just the drinking water crisis, but even the water required for irrigation across rural Telangana has been facing a severe crisis. We are in November, and today we are witnessing over 15,000 water tankers being supplied in the state of Hyderabad, and this is only going to increase as summer comes in," he said. Targeting the Revanth Reddy-led government, the BRS leader alleged that administrative inefficiency and corruption had contributed to the worsening situation.

"This is due to the clueless, inefficient, incompetent Revanth Reddy government, which has been indulging in a lot of corrupt practices that are shown today as a result," he alleged. Reddy also raised concerns over the Sunkishala drinking water project, alleging that there had been no significant progress following the collapse of its retaining wall more than two years ago.

"The Sunkishala water dam has been collapsed for more than two years now. There is no progress on it. This was conceived and developed by the erstwhile KCR government to provide potable drinking water to the people of Hyderabad," he said. He further alleged that the collapse of the retaining wall had affected the project's progress and delayed the proposed Godavari water supply arrangements for Hyderabad's reservoirs.

Questioning the state government's contingency measures, Reddy said, "Now, the people in Hyderabad and Telangana are questioning the Revanth Reddy government as to what the contingency plan is." "Unfortunately, even the colleges and schools in the state of Telangana have been declared holidays for the sole reason of not being able to supply potable drinking water to the students," he said.

Reddy further compared the present situation with the previous BRS government led by K Chandrashekar Rao, claiming that such a situation had not been witnessed between 2014 and 2023. "The people of Telangana and people of Hyderabad are ready to teach a befitting lesson to the Revanth Reddy government whenever polls come," he added.

His remarks come as Hyderabad has been witnessing rising pressure on its drinking water resources amid declining groundwater levels and lower-than-normal rainfall. Recent reports have highlighted increased dependence on water tankers, while some residential educational institutions have announced temporary holidays due to shortages. (ANI)