KRMB clears water releases for Telangana, AP till August 15 for drinking water needs

The Krishna River Management Board approved water releases from the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar reservoirs to meet the drinking water needs of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh till August 15. Telangana raised concerns over Andhra Pradesh allegedly utilising more water than its allocated share.

Hyderabad: The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) on Tuesday approved the release of water from the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar reservoirs to meet the drinking water requirements of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh till August 15. The Board is scheduled to meet again on May 14 to discuss pending issues and take further decisions on water releases.

At a meeting of the KRMB’s three-member committee held at Jalasoudha in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh was permitted to utilise 10 TMCft of water from Nagarjuna Sagar, while Telangana was allowed to draw 16 TMCft from Nagarjuna Sagar and another 6 TMCft from Srisailam during the same period.

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During the discussions, Telangana representatives argued that Andhra Pradesh had already utilised more water than its allocated share. They asserted that after the allocation of 10 TMCft to Andhra Pradesh from Nagarjuna Sagar, the remaining available water should be reserved for Telangana.

Telangana had sought 18 TMCft of water, while Andhra Pradesh placed an indent for 10 TMCft. It was also decided that the available water in the Srisailam reservoir would be allocated to Telangana.

KRMB Member Secretary Satish Kamboj, Telangana Irrigation Department Engineer-in-Chief Ramesh Babu and Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief Narasimha Murthy attended the meeting.