Krishna board orders release of water from Nagarjunasagar dam

In a relief to new Andhra Pradesh, the Krishna River Management Board today ordered release of 6000 cusecs of water per week from the Nagarjuna Sagar dam to the downstream districts in the state.
The chairman of the board, who also heads the Central Water Commission (CWC), held a meeting with chief secretaries of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana here before giving the order.
The intervention of the Krishna Board came following a standoff between (new) Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the release of water. The Andhra Pradesh government had sought releasing 10 TMC of water to Krishna delta region in the state for drinking water purposes.

As per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, management boards have been set up for Godavari and Krishna rivers.
"The chairman visited Hyderabad and met chief secretaries of both the states (Telangana and Andhra Pradesh). He decided that 6,000 cusecs of water be released from Nagarjuna Sagar dam per week," Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister D Umamaheswara Rao told reporters here.
"The board would meet again to decide on releasing water in the future. This order is given to meet immediate drinking water purposes," the minister said.

The total amount of water to be released during the week would be to the tune of nearly four TMC, according to a senior official.

Meanwhile, the Telangana government has written to the CWC requesting it to monitor the release of water to ensure that it is used for drinking water purposes only.
"It is requested that release of water should be monitored closely after setting up a proper mechanism with the officers of Central Water Commission locally available, to ensure that the water is used for drinking purposes only.
"Further release shall be made contingent on the use of water being released now for drinking purposes only. The Telangana state government will use the water reserved for Left Canal of Nagarjuna Sagar project, as and when the demand for drinkng water arises in the coming days," a letter sent by the Principal Secretary to Telangana government to the CWC Chairman said.