TS opposes AP indent for five tmc from NSP

The fresh indent placed by Andhra Pradesh seeking immediate release of five TMC of water was strongly opposed at the three-member committee meeting of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) held here on Friday.

Hyderabad: The fresh indent placed by Andhra Pradesh seeking immediate release of five TMC of water was strongly opposed at the three-member committee meeting of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) held here on Friday. It was stressed that Andhra Pradesh had already exhausted its total entitlement this year and whatever water left in the joint project should be left for the utilization of Telangana state only.

Andhra Pradesh has pleaded that districts of Guntur, Palnadu, Prakasham and Bapatla experienced deficit rainfall from June to September resulting in severe drought conditions in the command area of the NSP right canal. There is an immediate need for five tmc of water under the NSP right canal and it should be met in the first week of October.

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AP insisted on the release of 5500 cusecs into the NSP right canal for the next 11 days. It also requested the KRMB to regulate meticulously water releases from the project giving consideration to the future needs in the current water year.

Since the state had proposed to release five tmc each in four quarters, AP had insisted on 15 tmc more in addition to 4.21 tmc it had already availed, till the end of the water year.

The present water level in the project is 524.70 feet as against the minimum draw down level (MDDL) of 510 feet. The project has about 26.31 tmc of water that can be drawn (above the MDDL).

But the Telangana had strongly opposed Andhra Pradesh’s bid to stake claim for a major share of the available water. They maintained that Andrha Pradesh had already exhausted its total entitlement for the year. Andhra Pradesh had availed even the share of Telangana, said officials.

Telangana has strongly contended that since Telangana state has no offline reservoirs, all the water it could save so far was preserved in the joint reservoir- the Nagarjuna Sagar Project.

State Engineer in Chief C Muralidhar represented the state at the three-member committee meeting.