KTR Visits Nagar Kurnool Fields, Slams Congress Over Krishna Water Delay
Synopsis
BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao visited drought-stressed cotton and maize fields in Nagar Kurnool on 27 September 2026, accusing the Telangana Congress government of criminal negligence for failing to operate Srisailam lift irrigation pumps despite adequate water levels in the reservoir.
Key Takeaways
Rama Rao visited cotton and maize fields in Nagar Kurnool on 27 September 2026 while returning from Kollapur .
He described crops drying up due to lack of water and erratic power supply, attributing blame to the Telangana Congress government .
Rama Rao alleged Srisailam reservoir holds sufficient Krishna river water but the government is not pumping it to farmers' fields.
The BRS government (2014–2023) had accelerated Palamuru-Rangareddy and other Krishna lift schemes to serve drought-prone southern Telangana districts including Nagar Kurnool.
Since December 2023 , BRS has repeatedly accused the Congress administration of delays in operating lift irrigation pumps and disrupting agricultural power supply.
The rabi season planning window makes the water-release question time-sensitive for cotton and maize growers in the region.
Drying cotton and maize fields under a September sun — BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao walked those rows in Nagar Kurnool on Sunday, 27 September 2026, and came away with a direct indictment of the Telangana Congress government: that a reservoir full of water is sitting unused while farmers watch their crops wither.
Returning from Kollapur, Rama Rao stopped at cotton and maize fields in the district and documented what he described as a twin crisis — no water and erratic power supply. 'The sole responsibility for this is the Congress Govt's criminal negligence in utilising Krishna waters,' he posted, adding pointedly: 'There's more than enough water in Srisailam but Congress doesn't want to pump this water to the farmers' fields.'
Srisailam at the Centre of the Blame
Srisailam reservoir, the largest in the Krishna basin, anchors the web of lift irrigation schemes designed to push water uphill into drought-prone southern Telangana. The previous BRS government (2014–2023) accelerated projects like Palamuru-Rangareddy precisely to break Nagar Kurnool's dependence on rain-fed agriculture. The argument Rama Rao is now pressing is that the infrastructure exists, the water is there — but the pumps are not running.
Since the Congress administration took office in December 2023, BRS leaders have repeatedly alleged delays in operating these Krishna lift irrigation pumps and breakdowns in dedicated agricultural power supply. The charge is not new — but a ground-level visit with photographic evidence sharpens it heading into the rabi season planning window.
Nagar Kurnool's Farming Fault Line
Cotton and maize, the two crops Rama Rao singled out, are highly water-sensitive at late-growth stages. A disruption in power supply stalls the pumps that feed lift-scheme canals, and the cascading effect reaches field-level within days. Nagar Kurnool farmers — already in a district historically categorised as backward — have little buffer when both electricity and canal water fail together.
The Congress government has not yet issued an on-the-record response to Sunday's visit. What to watch next: official statements from the Telangana irrigation department on current Srisailam releases, and whether the state schedules an all-party rabi water-planning meeting before the sowing window closes.
An opposition leader touring wilting fields is a political act — but the fields themselves are not political. Until pumps run and power holds, the crops don't care which party is in charge.
Point of View
A specific district (Nagar Kurnool), and specific crops (cotton and maize), he converts a broad governance critique into a tangible, verifiable charge that the Congress government must now answer with operational data rather than rhetoric. The pattern — opposition tours distressed farmland, demands pump activation before rabi sowing — is a well-worn script in Telangana's irrigation politics, but the credibility of the underlying infrastructure grievance depends on whether the state releases Srisailam water-use figures. If the government stays silent, the narrative advantage stays with BRS.
NationPress
27 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Nagar Kurnool farmers facing a water shortage in September 2026?
BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao alleges the Telangana Congress government has failed to operate Krishna river lift irrigation pumps fed by the Srisailam reservoir, leaving cotton and maize crops in Nagar Kurnool without water despite adequate reservoir levels.
What is the Srisailam reservoir and why does it matter for Telangana farmers?
Srisailam is the largest reservoir in the Krishna basin and the primary source for lift irrigation schemes — including Palamuru-Rangareddy — built to carry water to drought-prone districts in southern Telangana like Nagar Kurnool.
What did KTR say about the Telangana Congress government and Krishna waters?
Rama Rao called the Congress government's approach 'criminal negligence,' stating that sufficient Krishna water sits in Srisailam but the government is not pumping it to farmers' fields, compounding the problem of erratic power supply.
What crops are affected by the irrigation failure in Nagar Kurnool?
Cotton and maize fields in Nagar Kurnool district were visibly drying up at the time of Rama Rao's visit on 27 September 2026, according to the BRS leader's account.
Has the Telangana Congress government responded to KTR's allegations?
As of Rama Rao's post on 27 September 2026, no official response from the Telangana government or irrigation department had been recorded. Observers are watching for official data on current Srisailam water releases.
