Press Releases Archive

The Lok Satta Party today requested Chief Minister K. Rosaiah to scrap the Godavari drinking water project and take up Krishna Phase III scheme to meet the drinking water needs of Hyderabad city.

It also asked him to take up on an emergency basis a project to prevent loss of life and property in the Krishna basin, in the wake of the unprecedented floods the river witnessed in October 2009.

A Lok Satta Party delegation, led by its President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, called on the Chief Minister at the Secretariat and explained that tapping the Godavari at Yellampalli for Hyderabad’s drinking water needs is risky, costly, and time consuming. In contrast, the Krishna Phase III scheme has a dependable water source in Nagarjunasagar, can be executed fast, and costs only a fraction of the Godavari’s scheme.

The delegation drew the Chief Minister’s attention to the precarious drinking water supply position in Greater Hyderabad city and surrounding areas. While the current demand for drinking water in GHMC area is 300 mgd, the present water supply capacity is 330 mgd. Of the 330 mgd maximum water available, 180 mgd comes from Krishna river, thanks to the execution of Krishna Phase I and Phase II schemes.

The delegation wanted the Chief Minister to take up Phase III of the Krishna water scheme. Costing about Rs. 600 crore, it will augment the water supply by about 90 mgd (5.5 TMC). It can be completed within 12-15 months. Even if 135 mgd is drawn, the cost will be about Rs. 900 crore, or about 25% of the Godavari scheme.

The Godavari drinking water supply project taken up in 2007-08 proposes to draw 8 TMC (135 mgd) of water from two km upstream of the Yellampalli barrage. Costing Rs. 3375 crore, the project involves 196 km of pipeline, and four- stage pumping and one stage gravity and lift involving 506 meters. The Godavari project will take at least 5 to 8 years and perhaps longer because of delays in Yellampalli barrage construction. So far, even the land has not been acquired for the barrage and pipeline. For Krishna, a large reservoir of 400 TMC capacity exists at Nagarjunasagar, and pipelines have already been laid in two phases.

The delegation pointed out that Yellampally cannot be depended upon for drinking water. Yellampally is downstream of Sriramsagar project, and upstream of the confluence of the Pranahita with the Godavari. The yield below Sriramsagar, up to Yellamaplly is estimated to be only about 23 TMC with 75% dependability. On the basis of 95% dependability, the yield at Yellampally is only 8.75 TMC in good years. At 100% dependability, the yield at Yellampally is practically nil. In case of Nagarjunasagar, the dead storage of the reservoir itself is about 90 TMC, and there is assured availability of water round the year even in lean years.

The Lok Satta leaders suggested that the yield of Yellampally barrage be utilized for irrigation in the neighboring areas with small lifts.

Dr. JP drew the Chief Minister’s attention to the Union Government’s offer to provide Central assistance for strengthening the Krishna river bunds and requested him to send a detailed project report for assistance. The Union Government had made the offer in response to Dr. JP’s representation to the Prime Minister.

Dr. JP said that the Krishna witnessed a flood of 25 lakh cusecs in October 2009 whereas the bunds were designed for a flood of only 10-11 lakh cusecs. As there was significant additional storage capacity in Nagarjunasagar reservoir then, much of flood flow could be accommodated in the reservoir. Yet, the Krishna breached its right bund in the Repalle- Bhattiprolu area in October 2009.

Strengthening the flood management capability, in Krishna River and its tributaries, including bund-strengthening and structural improvements to facilitate a maximum flood discharge of 25 lakhs cusecs is vital to ensure the safety of about one crore people of Kurnool, Mahabubnagar, Guntur, and Krishna districts.

The delegation included Party leaders DVVS Varma, Katari Srinivasa Rao, Y.D. Ramarao, V. Vijayender Reddy, G. Raja Reddy, Bhisetty Babji, and V. Laxman Balaji, P.Ravimaruth, Mrs.N.Saroja Devi, Mrs.D.Lakshmi.

Lok Satta’s Quit India Agenda

The Lok Satta Party observed the Quit India anniversary today by calling for a movement to rid the country of the four evils of poverty, centralization of power, corruption, and liquor -- all of which are inter-related.

Addressing the media, party President Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan said that the fruits of Independence and tremendous economic development have eluded the overwhelming majority of people because of systemic ills plaguing the nation.

"We have to battle the four evils today unlike in the past when we had to fight only the British. Only a relentless and united struggle by all sections of people will help us fight these evils and usher in true Swaraj."

Although the British left the country more than six decades ago, their legacy of centralization of power continues to flourish. Pointing out that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, Dr.JP said that Chief Ministers all over the country have become modern day monarchs and bureaucrats their handmaidens. Local Governments have become irrelevant as they are denied powers, resources, and personnel to serve the people who elected them.

He recalled how Mahatma Gandhi faulted Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu for accepting a gift of Rs. one lakh on his birthday and said there are hundreds of leaders who have looted crores of rupees of public money unabashedly.

Dr. JP said the rulers irrespective of the party to which they belong have mastered the art of perpetuating themselves in power by ensuring the poor remained poor by drowning them in liquor to undermine their capacity to fight for a better future.

"This is not the Independence that Mahatma Gandhi dreamed of and for which tens of thousands of people had struggled for decades."

Dr.JP underlined that Governments could not eradicate poverty by throwing crumbs like rice at Rs.2 a kg. People have to be made self-reliant by making available quality education and health care, skill enhancement and livelihood opportunities to every one without any discrimination based on the accident of birth in a certain caste or class, region or religion. Instead of following such an agenda, successive Governments have been using liquor not merely as a source of revenue to the exchequer but also as a weapon to mute people's protests against poverty and destitution.

Dr.JP demanded that local Governments be treated as the third tier in Government with devolution of powers, resources and personnel as envisaged in the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution. Such devolution of powers and responsibilities would help bring down if not eliminate corruption.

The Lok Satta in association with retired Vigilance officials and journalists will fight for a Constitutional amendment for devolution of powers on local Governments and strengthening laws and mechanisms to end corruption.

Dr.JP renewed his call to all thinking persons concerned about the future of their children and the country to transcend their political differences and join hands to usher in new politics. "We have the potential to grow into a super power. We can however realize our potential only when we transform the nature of politics."

In reply to a question, he suggested that the Government constitute an independent authority to deal with land acquisitions.

Mr. D. V. V. S. Varma, State Working President, announced that the State Working Committee would meet on August 11 and 12 to discuss the crisis in State politics and formulate its strategy. Mrs. N. Saroja Devi and Mr. P. Rambabu, Mahila Satta and Yuva Satta leaders respectively took part in the media meet.