CHENNAI: The Andhra Pradesh government has resumed the release of Krishna river water to Chennai from Kandaleru reservoir following the completion of maintenance works of Kandaleru - Poondi Canal (KP Canal).
The reservoir in the neighbouring state was opened on Wednesday and the water is expected to reach the Tamil Nadu border on Friday evening or Saturday morning.
Krishna water was last released from the Kandaleru reservoir in February, reaching the Zero Point on the state border on February 25. The release is part of the Telugu Ganga Project agreement between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, under which water is to be supplied from July to October and January to April.
Since February 25, Tamil Nadu has received about 1 TMC of water. However, the release was stopped mid-April citing the maintenance work.
Earlier, the Water Resources Department (WRD) had diverted water stored in Poondi lake to Redhills and Chembarambakkam lakes that are terminal reservoirs to keep the Poondi lake relatively empty since Krishna water will reach Poondi first.
Even though Andhra Pradesh is obligated to release water only up to April, the extended release is a part of an understanding between the two governments.
“We will not receive water during the Northeast monsoon as the lakes in Chennai are already full. So, we adjust the schedule based on requirement,” a Metro Water official said.
