Telangana Government Detains Opposition Leaders Over Jurala Water Crisis

The Government of Telangana detained several opposition leaders and sealed off the Priyadarshini Jurala Project on September 21 and 22, following protests by farmers from Jogulamba Gadwal, Wanaparthy, and Mahbubnagar districts. Farmers are demanding the release of irrigation water to save standing paddy crops, while state officials, including Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, maintain that low reservoir levels and El Niño conditions require reserving remaining stocks for drinking water.

Opposition parties have disputed these claims. BRS working president KT Rama Rao asserted that the reservoir holds approximately 9 TMC, far exceeding the 2 TMC needed for drinking water. He claimed the state has utilized only 28 tmcft of its 248 tmcft Krishna water allocation this year and demanded the activation of the Kannepalli and Narlapur pumps.

Police actions escalated on Tuesday when Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao was detained at Jadcherla while traveling to the project site. Other leaders, including BJP MP DK Aruna and former MLA Chittam Rammohan Reddy, were either detained or placed under house arrest. These arrests triggered further demonstrations by BJP workers on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru National Highway. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Rao accused the Congress-led administration of maintaining an anti-farmer mindset and suppressing democratic voices.