AP Irrigation Min meets Governor on power sharing with Telangana

Amid a raging row between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on sharing of electricity, the AP government today petitioned common Governor ESL Narasimhan on the issue.

"The water level is going down to 856 ft (at Srisailam project). The ayacut of SRBC in Rayalaseema needs to be protected. We tell Telangana as well, let's protect and save water. Up to 70,000 cusecs of water is going into the sea through the Prakasam barrage. We should not be hardening out stance," AP Irrigation Minister D Umamaheswara Rao told reporters.

"Farmers need to be protected both in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Our goal is to see that water is not lost," he said.

Rao said he has explained "all the facts" to the Governor who will go through the relevant material concerning the issue.

"Our leader (AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu), as TDP president, tells us and also the Krishna river board chairman that farmers should be protected. I have told Governor about the facts, because water needs to be saved carefully," he said.

There is a scarcity of 73 TMCs of water to existing levels in Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar (reservoirs) and that huge quantity of water is going into the sea, he said.

Observing that water needs to be saved, the minister said power can be purchased from other states, but even a single TMC of water cannot be obtained.

The current dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is about power generation at Srisailam (project).

Andhra Pradesh wants Telangana to stop power generation at the Srisailam project as continued power generation would lead to water scarcity in AP in future.

However, Telangana has refused to stop power generation in view of the prevailing acute power shortage, especially to agriculture.

The two state governments are involved in a bitter war of words over the issue.