TIRUPATI: Releasing flood water from the Srisailam dam even before it reaches the full reservoir level, will be detrimental to the irrigation projects in the drought-prone Rayalaseema region, opined Rayalaseema Intellectual Forum (RIF) convenor M Purushotham Reddy.
In a press statement on Saturday, the RIF convenor said the two Telugu States have already started drawing up to 70,000 cusecs of water for power generation. "The release of flood water to the Nagarjuna Sagar Project downstream amounts to injustice to Rayalaseema," he felt.
On one hand, the release of excess water from upper dams to the Srisailam dam has been stopped. On the other hand, the State government has failed to lay emphasis on maintaining the minimum storage level in the reservoir, he pointed out.
Actually, the government should start power generation only after the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar dams get filled with water. The Telangana government has started power generation even before the dam reached the minimum storage capacity, he alleged.
The RIF convenor demanded that the government immediately stop the release of flood water and power generation at the Srisailam dam. "The Andhra Pradesh government should lodge a complaint with the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) against Telangana for illegally drawing water from the Srisailam dam for power generation," he said.