Ahead of a decision to release water to Krishna delta in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao Tuesday held a one-and-a-half-hour-long meeting with Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan which was followed up by visits to Raj Bhavan by Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma and Central Water Commission chairman A.B. Pandya.
Live storageSources said Mr. Rao took up with Mr. Narasimhan the issue of release of 10 tmcft water, which was on Tuesday revised to 4 tmcft, to delta from Nagarjunasagar from June 25. A high-level committee of irrigation officials of both States finalised the water release. However, the government of Telangana had not given its consent to the decision which was essential. The government felt that Andhra Pradesh might use the water for wetting crop in the name of drinking. Moreover, water for drinking purposes did not require more than 2 tmcft. And the present live storage in Nagarjunasagar reservoir was only 13 tmcft.
It was in this context that Mr. Pandya,who is also the in-charge chairman of Krishna river management board, a creation of bifurcation legislation, rushed to Hyderabad to sort out the issue, they added. Incidentally, the Governor himself had constituted the high level committee comprising officers of both States as the functioning of the river board would take sometime.
