Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sep 21: Tension prevailed near the Jurala project in Telangana's Jogulamba Gadwal district on Monday after police stopped Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders and farmers from proceeding towards the dam to stage a protest demanding release of irrigation water.
The BRS had called for a dharna at the project in support of farmers who have been seeking water to save their standing crops, particularly paddy.
Police personnel deployed around the dam stopped the protesters, leading to heated arguments. A scuffle broke out when some protesters allegedly tried to breach the police cordon and march towards the project.
Police detained several protesters, including former MLA Chittam Rammohan Reddy.
A large number of farmers and BRS workers gathered at different points in the area and attempted to proceed towards the dam.
Tension had been building around the project since September 19, when some farmers released water from the head regulator into the Left Canal, reportedly expressing anger over what they described as the authorities' failure to release water for irrigation.
Project officials subsequently closed the regulator and security was strengthened around the dam to prevent any untoward incident.
Heavy police deployment was made in view of the BRS protest call. BRS leaders claimed that police personnel had been stationed at various points within a 12-km radius of the project.
Barricades were erected at several locations, while police vehicles were used to block roads and conduct checks. The restrictions brought traffic movement on the Atmakur-Gadwal highway to a halt.
Police also resorted to house arrests and preventive detentions at several places across the district to prevent BRS leaders and workers from joining the protest.
Former ministers Niranjan Reddy and Laxma Reddy were among those placed under house arrest. Several mandal-level BRS leaders were also taken into preventive custody from the morning.
Farmers have been demanding that authorities release water from the project to protect their crops. Project officials, however, have cited El Nino conditions and the lack of clearance from higher authorities as reasons for not releasing irrigation water.
Farmers have disputed the officials' contention that releasing water for agriculture could affect drinking water supplies.
The Jurala project currently has a live storage capacity of 5.1 TMC ft against its gross capacity of 8.81 TMC ft.
Meanwhile, BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao condemned the detention and arrests of farmers and BRS leaders protesting over the water issue.
Rama Rao also criticised the detention of former ministers and other BRS leaders from the erstwhile Palamuru (Mahabubnagar) district.
He demanded that the Telangana government immediately release irrigation water to farmers in the Jurala ayacut and take steps to protect their standing crops.