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Jagan-Naidu defending Modi but not Veerraju, GVL

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Jagan-Naidu defending Modi but not Veerraju, GVL

Interesting political developments are taking place ever since the pandemic broke out. CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy would write letters to PM Modi seeking greater support for fighting the virus. But, when Jharkhand CM criticised PM over lack of Covid support, Mr. Jagan Reddy launched a bitter attack on him and strongly defended Modi.

On the other hand, Chandrababu Naidu and his party leaders were asking Jagan Reddy not to blame the Modi regime for lack of vaccines but instead AP should buy enough of it directly from the manufacturers. Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy has been repeatedly saying that Mr. Jagan Reddy wrote many letters to the PM and the State could not take up huge vaccination as there were no vaccines from the Centre.

In different contexts, Jagan Reddy and Naidu defended Modi for their own political convenience. Whereas, the BJP AP leaders kept silent all the while on the vaccine shortage controversy. BJP AP President Somu Veerraju has not issued a single statement to condemn the YCP Government’s accusation that the Centre was not giving the required vaccines to AP.

BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao too was keeping mum despite the fact the Jagan regime was passing the blame to the Modi regime on the vaccines row. Blame games are on the rise as the Covid surge continues.

Telugu360 is always open for the best and bright journalists. If you are interested in full-time or freelance, email us at Krishna@telugu360.com.

Naidu’s tap on Rahul’s back, will it be a pat or slap on TDP?

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Naidu’s tap on Rahul’s back, will it be a pat or slap on TDP?

Telugu Desam supremo Chandrababu Naidu had tapped on the back of Congress president Rahul Gandhi the other day in Bengaluru. He shook his hands with Rahul Gandhi first and then pulled him to the front row as all the leaders waved at the crowd. Then as Rahul was leaving the place, Chandrababu Naidu once again shook his hand and gave a pat on the back of the Congress chief.

The TDP chief was not subconscious or unconscious when he did this to Rahul Gandhi. It was neither accidental. Even the sharing of dais was very clear for him and he knew he would have to face the Congress chief. Telangana Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao too knew this and had advanced his visit to Bengaluru by one day to avoid meeting Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi. But, Chandrababu Naidu preferred this meeting and acted as he desired.

Interestingly, when Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi reached the venue and were walking towards the dais, Chandrababu Naidu was behind them, though reached Bengaluru several hours before them. It is said that Chandrababu Naidu must have greeted both Rahul and Sonia behind the stage before coming under the focus of the still and video cameras. That is what Chandrababu Naidu is known for. But what he did with the Congress leaders right in front of the cameras is only visible while what had happened behind is for the people to guess.

Even before the dais was cleared by the leaders one after the other, the videos and photographs of the venue starting moving fast in the social media. In Andhra Pradesh, the photographs of Chandrababu Naidu shaking hands with Rahul and patting his back went viral. There is discussion across the State on the possibilities of Chandrababu Naidu going with the Congress in the next elections. While some welcomed this move, there are several others who are against the Congress-TDP alliance in the State.

The hard core loyalists of the two parties have been fighting for the past three decades and they don’t approve of this alliance. It is certainly not a positive development for these loyalists and some of the leaders from both the parties. But, there are some who want and claim that there are no permanent enemies in politics. The TDP leaders are already making positive moves towards building a positive talk in favour of the Congress-TDP alliance for the next elections as the target of the two parties is to defeat BJP and the common enemy for the two parties is Narendra Modi.

“When the target is same for two people and the enemy is strong, there is nothing wrong in the two people joining hands to defeat the strong enemy,” is the new statement that the TDP leaders have started floating in the State after the Bengaluru development.

With the leaders of the two parties differing on the alliance, it is to be seen if Chandrababu Naidu’s tap on Rahul Gandhi’s shoulders would be a pat on TDP’s back or a slap on its face.

Telugu360 is always open for the best and bright journalists. If you are interested in full-time or freelance, email us at Krishna@telugu360.com.

Palamuru Vs Pattiseema: Water Politics in AP and TS

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Palamuru Vs Pattiseema: Water Politics in AP and TS

Though textbooks say water is colorless, tasteless and odorless- in practice water smells corruption, is colored by politics and always tastes bitter as has been proven in the case of all irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh and its successor states.

A report “Corruption risks and governance challenges in the irrigation sector” prepared by Water Integrity Network says, “The (water) sector deals with a basic human need and is thus socially and politically sensitive. This, as well as the monopolistic and capital intensive character of water supply services, creates an enabling environment for corruption.”

Political parties in power always tend to give top priority to major irrigation and infrastructure projects as societal and personal gains are huge. This is the driving force for  taking up the huge irrigation projects (infrastructure projects like thermal plants) without proper study, cooked up data, exaggeration of benefits, understatement of risks, favorable calculation of benefits versus costs.

One can find all these aberrations in the CAG report (2012, Andhra Pradesh, Report 2, Chapter.3). Projects are rarely sent to Central Water Commission (CWC) for clearance. Palamuru- Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Project and Pattiseema are no exception.

As all objectives of these projects are couched in the  language of development- improving livelihoods of poor, arresting farmers’ suicides, providing drinking water to capitals and industrialization, few dare question them directly. All fall in line and support these projects emotively pushing the corruption and politics under carpet.

Palamuru-RR project: Chief minister KCR laid for the project in mid-June. The cost of the project is whopping Rs 32,250 crore. It envisages “to irrigate upland ayacut of 10 lakh acres, drinking water to Hyderabad and industrial use in Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy and Nalgonda districts, by lifting 90 TMC of flood water in 60 days during flood season from foreshore of Srisailam Project located on Krishna river in Mahabubnagar district to Laxmidevipally near Shadnagar, which is the highest elevation in between Mahabubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts. AP’s TDP government wrote a letter to CWC chairman to state the project, along with Nakkalagandi, planned on the surplus waters of Krishna, is being taken up without approval from by Krishna River Management Board (KRMB). AP said this project violates the bifurcation Act-2014.

Pattiseema Lift Irrigation project: Andhra Pradesh is taking up this project as a part of the Polavaram Project. The view has no takers outside government. As the head works of polavarm need about four years, TDP government says,  it is proposed to divert the waters of Godavari to Krishna river by lifting water by 30 turbine pumps, each of 8 cumecs, at a cost of Rs 1300 crore. Political parties, farmers association cried foul of the project and said the project was a sheer waste of money. Even sections of BJP have reservation. They all say that it is better to spend the money on Polavaram to expedite the completion. Everybody suspected corruption. TDP, however, raised the bogey of development, farmers, suicides, Krishna water to Rayalaeema, to silence opposition.

Chief Minister KCR asked Andhra Pradesh to tell if Galeru Nagari, Telugu Ganga, Handri-Neeva Projects had CWC clearance. CAG lends support of KCR argument. Many Jalayagnam Projects have been taken up without clearance. Some projects such as Gandikota-CBR project are taken up even without sending DPR to CWC. Half of the YSR’s Jalayagnam projects are planned without water availability. Andhra Projects need more water than what is available in Krishna River.

Mystery of Flood water: All projects are planned on Flood water. According to Palamuru GO the project draws flood water for 60 days in a season. How many days the flood water is available in Krishna? CAG cites an expert committee report and says the flood days are just 30 and dependability is 45 per cent. While Palamuru needs 60 flood-days, Handri-Neeva is planned to draw flood water for 120 days. With every new project the availability of flood water gets progressively reduced. Where is the water for new projects, a mystery.

Since both states are resorting to build projects on mythical surplus water, they can settle down these issues through negotiations. But, given the regional hatred between the ruling parties, this is unlikely to happen. In fact, experts like S Jeevananda Reddy have alternative mechanisms to address the water needs of Hyderabad. Talking to Telugu360.com, Jeevananda Reddy, a former UN expert, said by arresting wastage of water in Hyderabad, water could be supplied without going in for massive projects which need thousands of crores.

Telugu360 is always open for the best and bright journalists. If you are interested in full-time or freelance, email us at Krishna@telugu360.com.

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