TRS calls for Mahabubnagar shutdown over irrigation project

Telangana's ruling TRS party has called for a shutdown in Mahabubnagar district on Friday to protest attempts by the Andhra Pradesh government to stall the Palamuru lift irrigation project.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi leaders said they would oppose tooth and nail the attempts by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to stop the Telangana government from taking up the project.

Taking strong exception to a letter sent by Andhra Pradesh to the Centre to oppose the project, Telangana's Industry Minister Jupalli Krishna Rao and other TRS leaders from the district appealed to people to observe the shutdown.

They also asked TDP leaders of Telangana to come out openly against their leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for stalling the project.

Krishna Rao said no force can stop Telangana from building the project, aimed at irrigating vast lands in the backward region.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao last month laid the foundation stone for the Palamuru project, the first major irrigation project to be taken up after formation of Telangana state.

Taken up with an estimated cost of Rs.35,250 crore, it seeks to irrigate about 10 lakh acres in Mahabubnagar, Ranga Reddy and Nalgonda districts besides providing water for drinking and industrial needs in and around Hyderabad.

The Andhra Pradesh government has written to the Krishna River Management Board, opposing the project. It argued that this will badly hit the interests of the state.