Jurala water tension: Police detain protesting farmers, former Matkal minister taken into custody
Tension gripped the Priyadarshini Jurala Project in Jogulamba Gadwal district on Monday, 21 September, as police sealed off the dam and stopped farmers and opposition leaders from reaching it.
Farmers from Jogulamba Gadwal, Wanaparthy and Mahbubnagar districts have protested at the site for about three days after water release was halted, citing low inflows. They say their paddy, sown three and a half months ago, needs water for six more weeks. Officials cite El Niño conditions and low storage, saying the stock must be reserved for drinking water, and have urged farmers to choose less water-intensive crops.
On Saturday evening, farmers released water into the Left Canal from the head regulator, but officials arrived immediately and closed it.
On Monday, a scuffle broke out as protesters tried to break the police cordon, and police detained several, including former MLA Chittam Rammohan Reddy. Former ministers Singireddy Niranjan Reddy and C Laxma Reddy were placed under house arrest.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao condemned the detentions, claiming the reservoir holds about 9 TMC against a drinking need of around 2 TMC. BJP MP DK Aruna backed the demand for release, and farmers' unions have called for a siege of the Gadwal Collectorate.
