Congress MP and party’s star campaigner for the upcoming Telangana assembly elections Rahul Gandhi on Thursday visited the Medigadda barrage, which is a part of the corruption-ridden Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme in Telangana.
Rahul, along with Telangana PCC president A Revanth Reddy and other senior leaders flew down to the project site in helicopter in the morning, after taking due permission from the police and the Election Commission authorities.
“Cracks have developed in multiple pillars because of shoddy construction with reports indicating that the pillars are sinking,” he observed.
He alleged that Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his family are using the Kaleshwaram Project as their personal ATM to plunder the people of Telangana.
Local MPTCs, ZPTCs from Ampatpally village along with the Congress workers sat on a dharna demanding the police to allow them to inspect the Medigada barrage. They protested two sides of the gate.
The Congress workers attempted to breach the area in defiance of Section 144 of the Cr.PC orders on Thursday.
Even as their leaders were allowed to visit the site of Pier 20, which had sunk on October 21, several other Congress workers created a ruckus by trying to barge onto the barrage.
The police was then forced to use force to disperse the unauthorised visitors from the project area. During the visit, Rahul Gandhi voiced concerns about the project’s construction quality.
The Laxmi Barrage site has now transformed into a heavily fortified security zone, with local police enforcement working in conjunction with Central paramilitary forces, ensuring stringent oversight at the Ambatpally inter-State check post near the barrage.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Cr.PC remain in effect at the barrage, which has been closed to both traffic and visitors for several days now.