Archive · 23 Sep 2026
Telangana BJP Chief Accuses Government of Neglecting Farmers' Water Crisis
Farmers in parts of Telangana say they do not have enough water for their crops.
BJP leader N Ramachander Rao blamed the state government for not helping them.
He was traveling to meet protesting farmers near the Jurala project.
Police stopped and detained him at Jadcherla, then released him.
Rao said stopping leaders would not end the farmers’ concerns.
He said the government was keeping water for drinking instead of releasing more for farming.
He also criticized the government for not providing crop insurance.
Rao asked the government to seek more water from Karnataka and help farmers protect their crops.
Telangana BJP chief N Ramachander Rao accused the state government of neglecting farmers facing severe water shortages for standing crops.
Rao was detained at Jadcherla while traveling to meet protesting farmers at the Jurala project and was later released.
He questioned Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and ministers Tummala Nageswara Rao and N Uttam Kumar Reddy over their silence.
Rao said farmers in the Jurala command area, Godavari basin, and Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation areas were suffering from inadequate water supplies.
He urged the government to release irrigation water, implement crop insurance, and seek supplies from Karnataka, saying the Almatti and Narayanpur dams were overflowing.
- Who
- Telangana BJP chief N Ramachander Rao, protesting farmers, and the Telangana state government, including Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and two ministers.
- What
- Rao criticized the government over agricultural water shortages and was detained while traveling to support farmers protesting at the Jurala project.
- When
- Tuesday morning; Rao spoke to the media after his release.
- Where
- Rao was detained at Jadcherla and was traveling to the Jurala project area; the affected areas included the Jurala command area, the Godavari basin, and Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation areas.
- Why
- Rao said farmers lacked water for standing crops and demanded irrigation-water releases, farmer counselling, and crop insurance.
Ramachander Rao’s Criticism
Government Position Cited
Use of available water
Ramachander Rao’s Criticism
Rao said the government should release water for irrigation because farmers’ standing crops were suffering, and he called the drinking-water justification outrageous.
Government Position Cited
The article reports that local ministers said water was being reserved for drinking purposes and could not be released for irrigation.
Response to protests
Ramachander Rao’s Criticism
Rao said detentions, arrests, and alleged lathi-charges were being used instead of addressing farmers’ grievances and called this unconstitutional and anti-democratic.
Government Position Cited
Police detained Rao while he was traveling to the Jurala project, saying the action prevented him from visiting the project area; the articles do not provide a broader government explanation.
Crop insurance
Ramachander Rao’s Criticism
Rao criticized the government for not implementing the promised state scheme or the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and demanded insurance coverage for affected farmers.
Government Position Cited
The articles do not include a response from the state government to Rao’s crop-insurance criticism.
- Main issue
- Water shortages affecting farmers’ standing crops.
- Political critic
- N Ramachander Rao, Telangana BJP chief.
- Detention location
- Jadcherla; he was taken to the District Police Training Centre.
- Protest location
- Jurala project area.
- Government claim cited
- Local ministers said water was being reserved for drinking purposes.
- Insurance demand
- Rao demanded implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana or a new state crop-insurance scheme.
- Water request
- Rao urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to seek upper-riparian water releases from Karnataka.
