War For Krishna: Dispute Erupts Between Andhra And Telangana Over Water Sharing

Krishna river water sharing has always been a point of contention between the Telugu states. In the latest scenario, Andhra Pradesh has Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to stop Telangana from taking up power generation at Srisailam, to maintain levels in the reservoir for drawing of water for Rayalaseema needs.

In the letter, Engineer-in-Chief of AP, M. Venkateswara Rao alleged that Telangana was drawing vast amounts of water from Srisailam, beyond the quantity permitted by the river board and storing them in Nagarjunasagar Dam, storing far more than necessary for the next three months.

“The storage in Nagarjunasagar is sufficient to meet the requirement of both Telangana and AP for the next three months, and since Rayalaseema has witnessed 49% deficient rainfall this monsoon season, there is urgent need to fill reservoirs and summer storage tanks for drinking water and irrigation needs of Rayalaseema,” the ENC said adding that it, however, would be possible only if proper water level is maintained in Srisailam and if water could not be drawn for Handri-Neeva and Pothireddypadu if the level slipped below 834 feet.

The senior irrigation officials of Telangana say that the proportion of Krishna water sharing is 63.13% for AP and 36.87% for Telangana. But they complain that AP has already utilised nearly 76% of water allocated to it for this water year, 10% more than what it should have been, as reported by The Hindu.