Kaleshwaram pumps hum; Congress finally notices water
Telangana has restarted Link‑II pumping from Yellampalli through Nandi and Gayatri towards Mid Manair — a workable route the Congress government could run without touching the damaged Medigadda link it keeps citing. The drought did not wait for talking points.
Link-II pumping has resumed from Yellampalli towards Mid Manair.
What happened: the Irrigation Department has restarted partial Kaleshwaram operations under Link‑II — lifting Godavari water from Sripada Yellampalli via the Nandi Pump House and routing it to Gayatri for conveyance through the SRSP flood‑flow canal to Mid Manair. According to a report, four Nandi pumps were switched on, each rated at 3,150 cusecs (12,600 cusecs combined), and three Gayatri pumps lifted 10,500 cusecs, with officials indicating a three‑day run aimed primarily at drinking water.
Why it matters in Telangana: this is the part of Kaleshwaram the Congress government can operate today without invoking the damaged Kannepalli–Medigadda–Annaram–Sundilla stretch it uses to explain inaction. Link‑II moving means towns on the Mid Manair grid have a fighting chance while the kharif clock keeps ticking. Inflows have strengthened too — the report cites 66,126 cusecs into Yellampalli, alongside rises at Kadem, Nizam Sagar and Jurala — which is when a state turns pumps on, not press conferences.
Politics, stated plainly: BRS leaders have been publicly demanding that pumps be switched on — “Switch on the Bahubali pumps. Fill the reservoirs and save farmers,” K. T. Rama Rao said earlier. The Congress‑run government has stuck to safety objections on the damaged barrages, which is fair for that link; it has less to say about why the operable link sat idle until now. The restart through Link‑II underlines that it didn’t need Delhi’s nod or a miracle, just a decision.
What we don’t know yet: the department has not published the actual volumes moved over the three days, the present storage at Mid Manair, or how much of this lift will reach households versus fields. The reported Yellampalli storage/capacity figures in one article conflict and need correction from the department before anyone quotes them. The Kannepalli–Medigadda system remains the unresolved piece.
Bottom line: Telangana turned on the pumps it could. The BJP‑led Centre has no role in this, and the Congress government in Hyderabad has run out of excuses — water moves when you switch the motors on, not when you brief the cameras.