Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao on Friday blamed Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for collapse of retaining wall of the under-construction intake well and pump house complex at Sunkishala project at Nagarjuna Sagar.
Rama Rao said that as the Chief Minister holds the portfolio of municipal administration, he should own the responsibility for this incident.
He told media persons that Revanth Reddy’s “incompetence” resulted in the collapse of the retaining wall.
The former minister for municipal administration wanted to know if there was no lapse on part of the government, why it kept the incident a secret for a week.
The Sunkishala intake well project was stated by the earlier BRS government to be a significant component of the Krishna Drinking Water Supply Project (KDWSP) to supply water to Greater Hyderabad until 2050.
KTR, as the BRS leader is popularly known, said the incident occurred on August 2 when the Assembly was in session. The government should have made a statement in the Assembly.
“Had the government no knowledge of the incident or was it deliberately ignored? If the government was not aware of it, then it is shameful,” he said.
He claimed officials as saying that the haphazard manner in which the work was undertaken led to the incident.
Fortunately, the incident occurred when there was a change in the shift of workers. Otherwise, this could have resulted in major loss of lives, he said.
The BRS leader demanded a judicial probe into the collapse of the retaining wall. He said Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka should announce this from the site where this incident happened.
Stating that there was no engineering defect in Sunkishala project, he said the defect was in the government’s approach.
KTR said when this incident happened Chief Minister was in Hyderabad and he left for the United States without holding a review meeting on it.
“If you are sincere, blacklist the contracting agency and take action against those responsible,” he said.
KTR mentioned that the previous BRS government launched the project to meet the drinking water needs of Hyderabad for the next 50 years. The project was designed to lift water from Nagarjuna Sagar at the dead storage level (462 feet).
He claimed that Sunkishala works were completed expeditiously and only motor fitting works were remaining.
“We had fixed the target of completing the project by 2024 summer but this government kept the works pending,” he said.
He advised the Congress government to stop blaming BRS for whatever bad happened and claiming credit for anything good.
He slammed the government for attacking BRS for the incident. He said it was shameful to escape from responsibility and carry out propaganda against the previous government.
KTR claimed that the Congress was already “exposed” for making false claims on the Kaleshwaram project for electoral gains.
He pointed out that the Kaleshwaram project is intact even after 12 lakh cusecs flood.
“If the Kaleshwaram project has failed, how is this government is pumping water and filling the reservoirs,” he asked.