Farmers facing severe hardship due to water shortage, says BJP chief Ramchander Rao

State BJP president N. Ramchander Rao on Tuesday expressed concern over the acute shortage of irrigation water affecting farmers in the Godavari basin, Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme and the command areas of the Jurala Project, alleging that thousands of cultivators were being pushed into distress.

Speaking to the media after being detained by police at Jadcherla while attempting to visit the Jurala project site, Mr. Rao accused the Congress government of neglecting farmers’ interests. It was ‘unfair’ to withhold irrigation water after farmers had already sown crops and witnessed partial germination, without adequately warning them about the possibility of water scarcity, he said.