Is Kaleshwaram the Largest Man-Made Disaster Since Independence?

Hyderabad, April 29 (NationPress) Telangana’s Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy has attributed the downfall of the Kaleshwaram project to the previous BRS administration, labeling it as the largest man-made catastrophe since Independence and the costliest engineering blunder ever committed by a state government in India.

He stated that Telangana is currently incurring an annual expense of Rs 16,000 crore in interest and loan repayments for the flawed project initiated during the BRS era.

During a press briefing, he presented the conclusive findings from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA).

Reddy pointed out that the report confirmed the structural failures of all three barrages—Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla—highlighting the incompetence, negligence, and intentional mismanagement by the former administration led by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao.

He asserted that the Kaleshwaram initiative was not founded on scientific principles but rather on a foundation of deception, propaganda, and misleading information. He reminded everyone that the initial proposal was the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella Project at Tummadihatti, for which the then TRS government had sought national project status. However, KCR abandoned this plan and instead redesigned everything to promote Kaleshwaram, falsely claiming completion for both projects.

Reddy accused the previous regime of favoring rushed execution funded through high-interest loans, leading to significant financial setbacks.

“All three barrages have structurally failed. I am delivering this presentation to document the facts and illustrate how public funds were squandered,” he stated.

He emphasized that the barrages were initially intended to manage merely 2 TMC of river water, yet over 10 TMC was stored in each due to a promotional agenda, causing foundational degradation and eventual failure. The NDSA report underscored that safety measures were disregarded, borehole assessments were insufficient, and maintenance documentation was nonexistent, all in breach of legal obligations.

“Signs of seepage and deterioration were detected as early as 2019, yet the BRS government chose to ignore them. This blatant negligence has inflicted financial losses amounting to thousands of crores on Telangana,” he remarked.

“The Kaleshwaram failure is not a natural disaster. It is directly attributable to the reckless decisions of the BRS government. This has severely impacted Telangana’s economy and the livelihoods of farmers. Telangana is expending Rs 16,000 crore annually just on loan repayments for this unsuccessful project. This represents public funds lost due to political theatrics,” Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed.

He criticized KCR for not taking responsibility and instead attacking the credibility of the NDSA, questioning its authority.

“This is a profound injustice to Telangana. It has deeply offended our citizens and tarnished the reputation of our state nationally. Recently, when we sought clearance for the Sitaramasagar project from the Ministry of Jal Shakti, officials dismissed it due to the collapse of our irrigation infrastructure,” he concluded.