Hyderabad: Tension prevailed on the Hyderabad-Warangal National Highway on Sunday after police intercepted Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao and several party leaders during their proposed visit to the Kannepalli pump house. The visit was organized by the BRS to protest against what the party described as the Congress government’s failure to effectively utilize Godavari River waters for irrigation purposes. K.T. Rama Rao, accompanied by BRS legislators and senior leaders from the erstwhile districts of Warangal, Karimnagar, and Nalgonda, had departed from Hyderabad to inspect the pump house facility and address the media regarding the alleged mismanagement of water resources.
Before proceeding toward Kannepalli, K.T. Rama Rao stopped at Babupet Stage in Yadagirigutta Mandal, where he interacted with former MLA Gongidi Sunitha Mahender Reddy and local party workers. However, upon reaching Pembarthi in Jangaon district, police personnel deployed in large numbers erected barricades and stopped the convoy from moving further. The situation quickly turned tense as BRS supporters gathered at the site and raised slogans against the state government and police action. Heated exchanges reportedly took place between party leaders and law enforcement officials, who maintained that they would not permit the convoy to proceed beyond the designated point.
The police action sparked protests from BRS workers, who accused the Congress government of attempting to suppress democratic protests and silence opposition voices on issues affecting farmers and irrigation projects. The BRS leadership reiterated that their visit was intended to highlight concerns over the alleged failure to utilize available Godavari river flows despite ongoing concerns about water availability in the state. Meanwhile, authorities carried out preventive detentions of several BRS workers across Jangaon district, while additional security personnel were deployed outside the residences of local party leaders to prevent further mobilization. The incident has intensified the political confrontation between the ruling Congress government and the opposition BRS over irrigation and water management policies in Telangana.
