Jurala water protest: gates open after detentions
Farmers sought irrigation water, BRS leaders were stopped, and the Congress government offered a scientific explanation before opening the canal. The paperwork explaining the arrests is still missing.
The Jurala canal was opened after officials cited competing water needs; details of the detentions remained unpublished.
Farmers in Telangana’s Palamuru region protested after water from the Priyadarshini Jurala Project was not released for irrigation. Reports from Jogulamba Gadwal, Wanaparthy and Mahbubnagar said paddy farmers needed water for the crop’s final weeks. On September 19, farmers opened the Jurala Left Canal regulator; irrigation officials stopped the release. Police later blocked access to the project and detained or intercepted farmers and BRS leaders, according to multiple reports. The exact number detained, the legal provisions used and release details have not been published in the material reviewed.
BRS leaders called the action illegal and said Jurala had enough water for irrigation. Telangana minister Vakiti Srihari said releases had to balance farming with drinking-water needs, storage, rainfall, inflows from Karnataka and future requirements. That is the government’s recorded position; it does not explain the detentions. By September 23, Telangana had opened the Jurala right canal after a delegation said Karnataka had assured additional Krishna water. The Congress government’s “scientific” explanation arrived with the gates. Its police paperwork did not.