Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday made history by making a power-point presentation on irrigation projects in the newly created state.
Amid boycott by the Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the chief minister made a detailed presentation on redesigning of projects to ensure optimum utilization of water from Krishna and Godavari rivers.
Three giant LCD screens were installed in the assembly while another screen was put up in the legislative council to enable legislators to watch the presentation.
KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, was seated in his chair with the permission of Speaker Madhusudhana Chary to make the presentation with the help of a laptop and a large monitor in front of him.
He began the presentation with the help of Google maps to show how upper riparian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka constructed 480 barrages on the two rivers and their tributaries.
The main opposition Congress and TDP boycotted the presentation on the ground that this will set an unhealthy precedent.
Opposition leader K. Jana Reddy told the speaker in a letter that there was no precedent in parliament or any assembly of a debate being initiated with audio-visual presentation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members were present in the house.
Before beginning the presentation, KCR explained how Telangana suffered in irrigation sector due to injustice and discrimination in united Andhra Pradesh.
Explaining why his government re-designed the projects, he declared that all irrigation projects will be completed to irrigate one crore acres of land and to turn Telangana into a lush green and prosperous state.