Yet another session of sparring between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana irrigation engineers looks imminent at the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) meeting in Hyderabad on Saturday, as it discusses sharing of water from Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar that are common to both States.
While Telangana is all set to raise a hue and cry over the 45 tmcft that did not reach the Nagarjunasagar reservoir though it was released from the Srisailam dam, Andhra Pradesh may counter it by highlighting the difference of nearly 57 tmcft between the water received at the Jurala project and the Srisailam project downstream.
The Telangana government argues that of the 218 tmcft released from Srisailam, only 163 tmcft was received at Nagarjunasagar. It has gone a step further and charged A.P. with siphoning of the water through the Pothyreddipadu Head Regulator and passing it off as transmission losses.
A.P. water resources engineers retort saying the same allegation could be levelled against Telangana. While 442 tmcft was received by Jurala from Maharashtra and Karnataka, only 385 tmcft was released to Srisailam and the loss of the entire 57 tmcft should be put into Telangana’s account, they assert.
Telangana has already complained to the Centre that the KRMB was favouring A.P.
The KRMB too has complained to the Centre that neither Telangana nor A.P. were following its directives.
A.P. accused Telangana of not releasing water to the NS Right Main Canal at the height of summer and the latter charged the former with tampering with telemeters and ‘pilfering’ water from Pothyreddipadu.
Several incongruities in the A.P. Reorganisation Act were giving scope for such allegations and counter allegations, a senior engineer said.
While 13 gates of NSP are geographically in A.P., Telangana was given control of the sluice gates to release water into the right main canal, he explained.
The Central government, which should mediate between the two States, was keeping quiet for political reasons, the engineers charged. The best solution was handing over control over the two projects to the KRMB in accordance with the reorganisation Act, they said.
A.P. and its Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in particular, has been pushing for it from the beginning, but Telangana has been advancing trivial arguments to stall it, the engineers said.
