HYDERABAD: With a forecast of around 15-20 per cent less-than-normal rain in June and July in the Telugu-speaking states and Karnataka, trying times are ahead. If there are no rains till August, as per the prediction, then both Telangana and Andhra will face a shortage of drinking water.
Water in the Srisailam reservoir is already below the Minimum Draw Down Level (MDDL), while Almatti and other projects upstream have almost dried up. Let alone farming, the Telugu-speaking states are set to be a drinking-water crisis if there is a delay in rains.
Even if Karnataka receives rain in August, there is no hope of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana getting water to Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar. As of Thursday, Almatti has 37.65 tmc, against its full storage capacity of 129.72 tmc. Karnataka will release water downstream only once all its small barrages are filled.
Just 43.31 tmc of water is available at Srisailam, against its capacity of 215.81 tmc. The current level at Srisailam is below the Minimum Draw Down Level (MDDL). From the MDDL, the Krishna River Management Board decided to draw water to meet the drinking water requirements of both AP and TS till the end of May.
A lack of rains in June and July will also have an adverse impact on the Mission Bhagiratha scheme.
Sensing that it was not advisable to depend on water from the Krishna river, Chief Minister KCR on Thursday said at an election meeting in Khammam that the government would supplement the Nagarjuna Sagar Project ayacut in Khammam district with Godavari water.