Telangana ordered to use only 3-tmc-ft of water from Srisailam

The Krishna River Management Board today issued an order directing Telangana government to utilise only three tmc ft of water from Srisailam reservoir for power generation at the Left Power House till November 2.
The board met here on Wednesday and Thursday and heard the arguments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments over utilisation of water at Srisailam reservoir.
The Andhra Pradesh government strongly wanted the current water level of 854 ft to be maintained at Srisailam to cater to irrigation and drinking water needs till next summer as there was no scope for inflow of additional water.
It was apprehensive of severe drinking water crisis not only in Rayalaseema districts but also Hyderabad city due to depletion of the reservoir by Telangana.

Andhra Pradesh contended that Telangana had been utilising 1.2 tmc ft to 4 tmc ft of water for the last few days for power generation, despite water falling to a precarious level at Srisailam.
The Telangana government, however, maintained that the water at Srisailam could be utilised to the level of 834 ft and as such it would go ahead with power generation at the Left Power House since the state was facing a severe electricity crisis.

The Andhra Pradesh government strongly objected to the presence of Telangana government's irrigation advisor Vidyasagar Rao at the board meeting yesterday.
The board, which announced it would come out with a decision on water utilisation later, issued a statement today authorising Telangana to use one tmc ft of water per day till November 2 for power generation.

It asked Telangana not to utilise any more water than the permitted quantity. The board will meet again on November 15 to review the situation, the statement added.