Telangana demands halt to Andhra Pradesh’s water drawls after postponement of KRMB meeting

Asserts that AP has already utilised far in excess of its entitlement as per KRMB records

Hyderabad: In response to the postponement of the emergency meeting convened by the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), the Telangana government has demanded that Andhra Pradesh halt all water withdrawals from the joint projects of Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar forthwith.

In a stern communication to the KRMB, the State Irrigation officials stated that Andhra Pradesh’s claims for additional water are unacceptable. “AP has already utilised far in excess of their entitlement as per the KRMB records and therefore cannot draw any water from the common reservoirs,” they asserted.

The emergency meeting, initially scheduled for Friday, was postponed at the last minute upon Andhra Pradesh’s request and has been rescheduled for Monday, February 24. Despite the postponement, Telangana’s Principal Secretary of Irrigation Rahul Bojja, ENC General G. Anil Kumar, and NSP CE Ajay Kumar engaged in an hour-long interaction with KRMB officials. During this interaction, they voiced their protest against Andhra Pradesh’s excess drawls, which they argued are detrimental to Telangana. Telangana state has submitted an indent for the release of 107 TMC of water to meet the state’s irrigation needs and an additional nine TMCs for meeting drinking water needs until May 25.