JOIN USAP, Telangana police clash over Krishna water
The Krishna river water row between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Friday took a serious turn after police personnel of the two states, who were supposed to prevent a flare up at the Nagarjunasagar dam site, instead turned on each other.
The clash, which injured four, took place following heated discussion between irrigation and revenue authorities of the two states. Armed with batons, the special police from both states resorted to blows.
Authorities from AP, armed with a government order to release 6000 cusecs of water reached the dam site and urged the project authorities to open the gates. However, their effort was thwarted by their Telangana counterparts who refused to hand over the keys saying they need orders from their government.
Telangana has shut down the crest gates of the Nagarjunasagar dam right branch canal since Wednesday evening, stopping water to fields of over 5 lakh acres in downstream Andhra districts of Krishna and Guntur denying water for their Rabi crop.
Telangana irrigation officials have said that the AP government has been using 2000 cusecs for thermal power generation in order to release that quantity to the right canal. “This will lead to the dead storage of 510 feet and the current level is only 532 feet. This is detrimental to both the states,” an officer told the media.
Addressing a press conference at the Telangana secretariat in the evening, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao said that AP has used 43 tmc over and above its share of 322.61 tmc while Telangana has used only 140.40 tmc out of its 229 tmc.
“How can AP claim all the water in the Nagarjunasagar dam without considering the needs of Telangana,” Rao asked. He advised the AP government to settle for either Bachawat tribunal award which allocated 58.40 tmc, for AP and 41.60 tmc for Telangana from Krishna river water or project wise allocations.
Telangana irrigation adviser Vidyasagar Rao said that their government on the advice of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has delayed the action of closing the gates to help the neighbouring state. “Andhra Pradesh has over utilised waters by 44 tmc but claims that it still needs 30 tmc of water to save the standing crops,” Rao added.
With the Krishna River Management Board refusing to intervene in the matter, AP government now wants to claim management of 13 gates of the project which are under the geographical area of the state. AP’s principal secretary for irrigation B Adityanath Das said there was no official communication about stoppage of water and Telangana cannot take unilateral decision.