The High Court on Monday directed the state government to file a status report on the quantum of Krishna water required to cater to the drinking needs of the people of Hyderabad and Secunderabad cities, and Nalgonda, Guntur and Prakasam districts.
A division bench comprising acting chief justice PC Ghose and justice Vilas V Afzulpurkar gave the direction while dealing with a batch of petitions opposing release of water from Nagarjunasagar to the Krishna delta if the reservoir level fell below 510 ft. "We have nothing to do with politics but are concerned with equal distribution of water to all regions of the state," it noted.
D.Prakash Reddy, petitioners' counsel, brought to the notice of the court that the water levels at the Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar reservoirs may not be sufficient to cater to the drinking needs of the people till June next. He said they had come across a report of the chief engineer of irrigation department in this regard and urged the court to call for a status report on the water levels at the reservoirs.
Durga Prasad, counsel for farmers of Krishna delta, alleged that the petitioners had moved the plea with political motives. Reacting to it, justice Ghose said they had nothing to do with politics.
Divn Bench Allows Release of Film
A division bench on Monday permitted release of Telugu feature film "Sorry Teacher" by setting aside an interim order granted by a single judge.Earlier, a single judge had granted a stay on the release of the controversial film by pointing out that the way the student-teacher relationship was shown in the film went against the rules governing film censoring.
Aggrieved by the stay, the filmmakers moved an appeal before the Court contending that the single judge's order was in violation of an Apex Court’s judgment and the Court should not act as an appellate authority over the order of the censor board.
HC Seeks Reports on Maoist Recruitments
The AP High Court on Monday directed the collectors of Maoist-affected districts in the state to conduct inquiry into alleged exploitation of innocent tribal boys and girls by the activists of revolutionary organisations, and their being forced to join them, and to submit reports to the court.