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Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has instructed officials to lodge a complaint with the union government regarding Andhra Pradesh 'unilaterally' shifting the water resources of Krishna river.
Referring to the alleged exploitation of water resources by the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh, the CM asked the officials of Irrigation department to be more alert in utilising river Krishna water from Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects. He further asserted that the telemetry system is the only solution to prevent the neighbouring state from utilising excess water than the prescribed quota. The officials brought to the attention of the CM that the AP government is not coming forward to pay their share of funds required for the installation of the telemetry system. According to a statement from the CM's office, the Irrigation Principal Secretary Rahul Bojja was instructed to write a letter to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), immediately informing them that all the funds required for the implementation of the telemetry system are being paid by Telangana government first and to take necessary steps for the telemetry immediately. CM Reddy has instructed officials to release water to the crops as per the plan from various projects in the state and the irrigation authorities have been asked to take appropriate precautions by assessing severe hot conditions in advance in summer and also be vigilant for the next 3 months. CM Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy held a meeting with top Irrigation officials at the Command Control Center on Monday and reviewed availability of water in the projects and the release of water for irrigation needs in the state. "The officials should conduct field visits regularly and take action by monitoring the situation at the field level", the CM said. He made it clear that all necessary precautions should be taken so that farmers do not face any hurdles and protect the crops in the heat conditions, read the CMO's statement. The officials briefed the CM about water levels in the projects and reservoirs and the utilisation of water sources in the major projects including Srisailam, Nagarjuna sagar and SRSP. The Chief Minister alerted the officials to utilize available water in the projects judiciously to meet drinking water and irrigation needs without any water crisis in summer. CM Revanth Reddy emphasized that next three months are very crucial and water demand for irrigation, drinking water and electricity will increase significantly in all parts of the state. The CM instructed the district Collectors to take special initiatives to provide drinking water and irrigation water to the people without any hurdles. The district officials have been asked to hold meetings immediately and prepare action plans district wise for water management. Collectors of the respective districts will also hold reviews with irrigation engineers on the ayacut, crops and water release under the Nagarjuna Sagar and SRSP projects. The Chief Minister suggested that the collectors should visit the projects, canals, crops in ayacut and review the release of water. The CM ordered Chief Secretary Santhi kumari to finalize agenda and hold a teleconference with the collectors and issue appropriate orders. The CM instructed irrigation officials to be vigilant in utilizing Krishna water from Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar. Referring to exploitation of water resources by the neighbouring State of Andhra Pradesh, the CM asked the officials of Irrigation department to be more alert in utilising river Krishna water from Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects. The CM reminded that the responsibility of allocation of water share between two states and calculating the consumption of water shares lies with the Central Water Commission, saying that the Central Government should take the responsibility of stopping Andhra Pradesh from excess utilization of water against the allocations. (ANI)
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