Telangana: All farms will not get Krishna water this year
River board sets limits on drawing water for drinking.
Hyderabad: The Krishna River Management Board had convened a meeting with representatives of Telangana and AP States on August 24 to draw up plans for water utilisation for both irrigation and drinking purposes using whatever water is currently available.
KRMB member-secretary Sameer Chatarjee on Sunday told Deccan Chronicle that available water was not sufficient to meet crop requirements fully in any project in the state; it would be possible to supply a part of the total requirement, which would be decided in the Board meeting.
The flood flows into Krishna projects considerably reduced a week ago and there are no predictions of heavy rain as of now at Mahabaleswar, the source of the river. “We got less quantity this year which needs to be adjusted among two riparian states,” he said.
On Saturday, Mr Chatarjee met Telangana state irrigation minister T. Harish Rao on his request to release waters for both NS Dam left canal and Alimineti Madhava Reddy canal to raise crops. The government also requested KRMB to convene a meeting to decide on the releases. AP government officials sought release of water for both drinking and irrigation.
“Let the Board decide what to do about the releases. But at any cost the level at Srisailam and NS Dam shall not go below the Minimum Draw Down Level of 834 ft and 510 ft. This is to ensure meeting the drinking water requirements of Hyderabad and other areas in both states till the next onset of monsoon,’’ he said.