Krishna award:Cong failed to protect AP's interest, says Naidu

Addressing a press conference here this evening, Chandrababu pointed out that the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal has "legalised" the "illegal projects" built by Karnataka while the irrigation projects being built in Andhra Pradesh were left high and dry.

He lashed out at the Congress government for failing to protect the state's interests and recalled how, as the then Chief Minister prevailed upon the Centre and got the height of Almatti dam in Karnataka restricted to 519 meters.

"Injustice was done to AP as the Tribunal took 65 years of water availability into consideration while allocating water." He also regretted the award that enabled sharing of surplus water on which AP hitherto had the sole right.

"The Congress has ridiculed me when I took up the fight against the illegal Babhli project being built by Maharashtra on river Godavari. Now, it has failed to effectively present our arguments before the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal on Krishna waters and thus failed to protect the state’s interests and rights," the TDP president alleged.

Terming the Tribunal's award a "major blow" to Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu feared that the Krishna Delta would turn into a desert while the irrigation projects taken up in Telangana and Rayalaseema regions would now remain only on paper.

"The then Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government grandiosely laid foundation-stones for projects that will take at least 40-50 years for completion. We will now have to suffer because of non-availability of water for the projects," the Leader of Opposition said.

Earlier in the day, Chandrababu held discussions with his senior colleagues on the fall out of the Krishna Tribunal award and its ill-effects on the state. He demanded that the government lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi to fight for the state's rightful share in Krishna waters.