Water released from Nagarjunasagar dam won’t be sufficient for drinking

Hyderabad: The row over the release of water from the Nagarjunasagar dam, which had escalated in the last week, was resolved on Tuesday with the arrival of the Central Water Commission chairman A.B. Pandey who has been appointed in-charge chairman for the Joint Management Board of Krishna River.

Mr Pandey met the chief secretaries of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Mr Rajeev Sharma and Mr I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, in the morning and irrigation officials of both the states in the evening.

Before leaving for Delhi in the evening, Mr Pandey ordered the release of 6,000 cusecs of water from Nagarjunasagar dam for a week, which is quantified as less than 4 TMC ft (thousand million cusec feet). However, the quantum of water will not be sufficient for drinking purposes in the Krishna Delta area which covers Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and West Godavari.

In fact the ad hoc committee comprising officials from both the states had earlier recommended release of 10 TMC ft (at the rate of 11,500 cusecs per day for 10 days from June 25 to July 4) from Nagar-junasagar. But Tuesday's order restricted the quantum to less than 4 TMC feet.

“There will be no use if less water is released. The river course from the NS Dam to Prakasam Barrage (180 km) is dry and has lot of craters; whatever water comes from upstream will either evaporate or fill the craters. At a rough estimate, if 10 TMC ft of water is released, only 5 TMC ft will be realised at Prakasam Barrage. Now if only 3.6 TMC ft is released we don't know how much will be realised at the barrage and how it will serve the purpose,” said a senior engineering official from Pulichintala Dam.

The release of waters had created a controversy between the two states after bifurcation. The AP Re-Organisation Act has provided for the constitution of a Joint Management Board with the Central Water Commission chairman as its chairman and two representatives each from the two states as members who will look into all aspects of release of waters and distribution among the projects in the two riparian states.

Mr Pandey took charge as in-charge chairman of the Board a few days ago.

However, even before the Appointed Day of June 2 for formal bifurcation, during President’s Rule, Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan had appointed an ad hoc committee to look into the issue and this committee had recommended release of 10 TMC of water, which has now been now restricted to 3.6 TMC.

The two governments are required to nominate two members (administration and technical) each, to the Board. In case the decision of the Joint Management Board of Krishna River is not acceptable to either of the two governments, the issue will be referred to the apex council headed by Union water resources minister (Ms Uma Bharati) and two committee members comprising Chief Ministers K. Chandrasekhar Rao and N. Chandrababu Naidu, to be decided by majority.