Krishna board chairman meets AP CM on Srisailam water issue

Meeting follows complaint by Telangana govt against running of Srisailam left bank power house

The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) will convene a meeting to resolve the ongoing stand-off between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments over the use of Srisailam reservoir water for power generation, according to irrigation department officials.

KRMB chairman AB Pandya today met AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in the light of a formal complaint lodged against running of the Srisailam left bank power house by Telangana government.

Pandya informed the chief minister that Telangana had stopped power generation at Srisailam and the dispute arising out of the usage of water there would be discussed at the board meeting to resolve the issue amicably, officials said.

The AP government had lodged a complaint with the board alleging Telangana had been violating the government orders that laid down the modalities for usage of water from the reservoir.

The Telangana government earlier said it was forced to operate the power house as there was no power available to protect the standing crops under well irrigation and also because AP did not come forward to arrange for a temporary supply of 300 Mw from its grid.

The standing crops would be saved if the power supply is ensured to the farm sector till the end of this month, it had maintained.

The Telangana cabinet, which was convened Friday evening to finalise the Budget proposals and the dates for conducting the Assembly session, is also understood to have discussed the latest spat between the two states.

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also closeted with the party MLAs on the same issue earlier in the day in bid to discuss the strategy in dealing with the AP government on the issue of power and water.