Krishna water dispute should be addressed via discussions:Guv

Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana E S L Narasimhan today suggested that the two states resolve the current dispute, over utilisation of Krishna river water, through discussions.
"I have already spoken to the two Chief Ministers on the issue. I have suggested that both state resolve the issue through discussions," the Governor told reporters in an informal chat at the Raj Bhavan this afternoon.
The Governor held an open session at the Raj Bhavan to exchange Diwali greetings with one and all.
AP Legislative Council Chairman A Chakrapani, Chief Secretaries I Y R Krishna Rao (AP), Rajiv Sharma (TS), political leaders and common people exchanged Diwali greetings with the Governor and his wife Vimala Narasimhan on the occasion.

The Governor told reporters that the Krishna River Management Board would decide on the water utilisation.
"Yes, there are problems faced by the two states but they should be addressed through discussions," Narasimhan observed.

The Governor's remarks came in the backdrop of a controversy over utilisation of Krishna river water at the Srisailam reservoir.
While the AP government alleged that Telangana was letting out water by generating power at the Srisailam Left Power House in violation of the Krishna River Management Board's order and also other relevant government orders in place. This despite water falling to the minimum storage level of 857.6 ft in the Srisailam reservoir.

The water currently available at Srisailam was hardly sufficient to meet the drinking water and balance irrigation needs, AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu pointed out last night.
He added that the Board secretary wrote a letter to the Telangana government asking it to comply with the stipulated rules and also the AP Reorganisation Act so as to ensure that water releases from Srisailam did not cause depletion below the threshold level, needed for drinking water and balance crop requirements.