Hyderabad, Sept. 22 -- Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief N Ramchander Rao was detained at Jadcherla in Mahabubnagar district on Tuesday, September 22, while on his way to the Jurala Project to meet farmers protesting a stoppage of irrigation water.

Farmers across the Palamuru region, spanning Jogulamba Gadwal, Wanaparthy and Mahabubnagar districts, have been protesting at the Priyadarshini Jurala Project for about three days.

The project's live storage currently stands at about 5.1 TMC against a gross capacity of 8.81 TMC. Farmers have disputed the drinking-water justification, arguing the quantity needed for irrigation would not meaningfully affect supply. Officials have urged farmers to shift to less water-intensive crops i...