Don’t spar over Krishna water, KRMB tells two Telugu States

Hyderabad: In the wake growing animosity between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on the utilisation of river Krishna water, the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) directed the two Telugu states to address the water sharing disputes amicably without giving any scope to legal hurdles in the summer season.

The board advised the two states to give priority for drinking water needs and then irrigation purposes. The available water should be utilised judiciously and ensure no wastage of water in the crucial times, it added.

The KRMB officials also instructed the two state governments to hold a meeting every 15 days and decide the requirement of water during the peak summer. The Board said that AP was currently drawing 7,000 cusecs of water from Sagar and Telangana is drawing 9,000 cusecs. The Andhra state was drawing 2,200 cusecs of water from Srisailam. It has been clarified that Telangana was drawing 2,400 cusecs from Srisailam through Kalwakurthy lift irrigation. The Krishna River Management Board has instructed to use the available 70 tmcft of water in the two projects in the hot season.