Vijayawada: Excess drawal of water from Nagarjuna Sagar Dam for power generation by Telangana has been noticed by the AP officials, who raised concern by saying that such a practice may deprive AP of water for agriculture and potable water needs of its people in the summer.
As of now, nearly 250 tmc ft of water is available in the dam, and with the exclusion of dead storage of 130 tmc ft of water, both AP and Telangana are having just 120 tmc ft of water to be shared, 60 tmc ft each.
AP requires nearly 20 tmc ft of water for the cultivation of the second crop in about 5.5 lakh acres, and this water comes to parts of Guntur, Palnadu, Bapatla and Prakasam districts through the Right Canal. The people living in these areas need to be provided with drinking water mainly during April, May, and June. In case of no supply, the AP farmers and the people face water shortages during the peak summer.
Though both AP and TG are supposed to comply with the norms specified by the Krishna River Management Board with regard to the sharing of Krishna water, there have been allegations and counter-allegations on the drawal of water beyond permitted limits.
AP sources privy to the developments at Nagarjunasagar Dam allege that Telangana has been drawing excess water for the generation of hydroelectric power, and they caution that if the same practice is allowed to be continued and with no fresh inflows into the Krishna River, in the days to come, parts of AP and Hyderabad will suffer for getting drinking water during the peak summer.
Moreover, when TG draws water and generates power, it releases used water into the Krishna River so that that water would go to waste while AP releases used water for power generation into the Right Canal so that such water can be used for the cultivation of crops and also meet drinking water needs. There are also allegations that the ‘Warabandi’ system with regard to the distribution of water on a rotation basis between AP and TG on a weekly basis is also not being followed properly by TG. Political pressure is also said to be having its influence with regard to the drawal of Krishna water from the dam.
AP’s senior official from the water resources department said, “It came to our notice that Telangana is drawing excess water from Nagarjunasagar dam for power generation, and it may cause trouble for AP for cultivation of crops and to meet drinking water needs in some parts of the state in summer, and it needs to be curbed for the benefit of both states.”
