KRMB panel on two-day tour of Srisailam prevented from visiting TS Genco facility

Kurnool: The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) sub-committee, on a two-day tour of Srisailam for operationalization of the Gazette Notification dated 15 July 2021, was prevented from visiting TS Genco power facility on Tuesday.

The panel was scheduled to visit both the AP and TS Genco facilities apart from inspecting the Srisailam Dam, the spillway, canals, river sluices and camp colony in Sunnipenta.

The committee comprising KRMB secretary Raipure Pillai, along with chief engineers of AP Genco and TS Genco had visited Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) lift scheme, the Muchumarii lift scheme, the Pothireddypadu head regulator, and the Srisalam reservoir main canal (SRMC) on Monday.

AP water resources officials are keeping themselves off the KRMB team. An official said, "We are worried. If we move with the KRMB team members, we are sure to be attached to them. We don't want that. We kept ourselves away from the gaze of the KRMB team."

The sub-committee visited project components in Kurnool district on Monday without the active involvement and support of the local water resources officials.

Srisailam project cheif engineer Muralinath Reddy said he had not gone to Srisailam and did not know what was happening there. Asked about a letter written by TS engineer-in-chief to KRMB, asking it not to allow AP to draw more than 34 tmc of water, Reddy said, “They can speak whatever they want but we have to go by the awards on sharing of river waters passed by the tribunals.”

He said there was no substance in the arguments advanced by TS engineers. “On the one side, they say the new projects should not be provided with water. But, they themselves have taken up new projects like Kalwakurth, Dindi, Srisailam left bank canal etc. These were not there when the project was initiated.”