Telangana minister blames Polavaram for Godavari floods; AP hits back

HYDERABAD: The flood levels in river Godavari is showing signs of receding but not before it sparked an intense war of words between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. A few ministers from both the states were seen sparring over each other's comments on Tuesday.

It all started with Telangana Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar's comments in the morning when he sensationally claimed that AP's move raising the height of the Polavaram dam was the reason for the Godavari floods and the inundation of temple town Bhadrachalam. He floated the demand for the return of the seven mandals that were merged with the neighbouring state at the time of the state bifurcation. In his opinion, this is an imperative and an urgent need to construct a permanent bund to safeguard Bhadrachalam from any natural calamities in the future.

Ajay's comments were quickly greeted with sharp retorts from the AP side. Minister for Education Botsa Satyanarayana took serious exception to this and called the Telangana minister's remarks as unwarranted and meaningless. In a counter-offensive, he said that they would be constrained to demand the merger of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh if the issue of the seven mandals were raked up again.

Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister Ambati Rambabu too found fault with Puvvada Ajay's demand. He said that it was not appropriate for those in key positions to make irresponsible statements. He mocked the argument that increasing the Polavaram dam height was the reason for floods in Telangana. He sought to remind Ajay that the seven mandals from Telangana were merged with Andhra Pradesh due to the very risk of submergence from the Polavaram project. Rambabu wanted to know if Telangana would be willing to part with Bhadrachalam if there was a request from Andhra Pradesh.

Later, AP's former minister Perni Nani added more fuel to the fire started by Ajay. He accused the Telangana government of meting out step-motherly treatment to Bhadrachalam. He questioned why the neighbouring state was unwilling to allocate adequate funds to develop the famous temple town on the lines of Yadadri temple.

With his comments generating enough heat from the other side, Telangana Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar sought to clear the air later in the day. He said that his outburst was intended to be absorbed more on emotional lines. He said that he was only asking the neighbouring state to come forward to alleviate hardships for people in flood-prone areas and help protect the presiding deities of Lord Rama and Sita from frequent inundation.

He however reiterated his proposal for the return of at least five villages that can lead to the pre-emption of flooding in Bhadrachalam. He appealed to the leadership and the people of the neighbouring state to understand the sentiment quotient involved in the issue and pave the way for the return of these villages.