HYDERABAD
A part of a big irrigation project in Telangana, known as the Kaleshwaram project, experienced problems when some of its support structures sank into the ground. This issue has given the Congress an opportunity to criticize the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ahead of state Assembly elections.
The trouble began when certain pillars at the Medigadda barrage sank in October, and later, in November, another part of the project at Annaram village showed signs of water leaking under the foundation of two more pillars. This worried the Congress. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was in the state for an election campaign, decided to visit the site to see the problems first hand. Surprisingly, the BRS government, which had previously denied access to Congress for such visits, allowed him to do so by building a helipad for his helicopter at the site, which the Congress paid for. Rahul Gandhi visited, spoke at a public meeting, and then left for Delhi.
The Congress party accused the government of using the Kaleswaram project as a source of money for the Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR). The BJP had previously claimed that there was a “scam” worth Rs 1 lakh crore in the project. Both the Congress and the BJP have criticized the government for the project’s alleged design flaws and the significant increase in its cost, from Rs 40,000 crore when it was first conceived to Rs 1.40 lakh crore now, with more work still pending.
To symbolize their claims, the Congress set up ATM replicas called ‘Kaleshwaram ATMs’ at various locations. These ATMs were meant to highlight the alleged corruption in the project. They had slogans like “Kaleshwaram ATM. This century’s biggest scam (Rs 1 lakh crore). KCR = Kaleshwaram Corruption Rao.” The BJP State President Kishan Reddy informed the Union Water Resources Minister about the damage at Medigadda as soon as it was discovered. A team from the National Dam Safety Authority was formed to investigate the issue.