Medigadda was intentionally damaged to tarnish KCR’s image

Hyderabad: BRS general secretary RS Praveen Kumar asserted that the failure of a pillar at the Medigadda Barrage, part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, was a result of intentional sabotage by anti-social elements, rather than a natural event. He called for the establishment of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a comprehensive investigation.

During a press conference at Telangana Bhavan here on Saturday, he highlighted that all three barrages of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project—Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla—successfully endured unprecedented flooding in 2022. The BRS leader raised concerns about why only the pillar at Medigadda fell without any apparent explanation. Praveen Kumar also questioned the lack of inquiry into any potential explosion, noting that no statements had been gathered and no seismic activity had been detected in the vicinity.

“On October 22, 2023, an assistant engineer filed a complaint at the Mahadevapur police station, reporting loud explosion-like noises at the barrage, which he believed suggested possible sabotage. However, no investigations have yet uncovered those responsible,” the BRS leader said.

Praveen Kumar stated that the incident appeared to be a deliberate attempt to tarnish K Chandrashekhar Rao’s legacy. He called for the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged explosions and determine if Congress leaders, including Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, as well as BJP leaders Bandi Sanjay and G Kishan Reddy, were implicated. He also recommended examining their mobile phone records to find any links to the event. The BRS leader criticised the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) for not addressing the explosion allegations and questioned their swift inspection of Medigadda following a letter from Union Minister Kishan Reddy, while neglecting a dam collapse incident in Uttarakhand.

The BRS leader claimed that the NDSA’s report, which pointed out design and construction issues, was part of a predetermined strategy to undermine the BRS’s reputation. He also rejected the accusations of financial mismanagement during the BRS’s time in power and accused the Congress of disseminating falsehoods, such as the existence of “golden toilets” in Pragati Bhavan. He mentioned that Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, currently residing there, laughed off these allegations when questioned about them.