VIJAYAWADA: Chief Ministers of both the Telugu States — YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and K Chandrasekhar Rao — met for the first time after the issue of water sharing between the States cropped up a few months ago. They met at a private function in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Jagan attended the marriage function of his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Krishna Mohan Reddy’s son Rohith Reddy in Hyderabad, where KCR was present. Both the Chief Ministers blessed newly-wed couple Rohith Reddy and Snigdha Reddy, the grand daughter of Telangana Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy.As Jagan was offered a seat beside KCR, the latter stood up and greeted his AP counterpart.
The duo had animated discussions while the other guests including Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitharam and Telangana Rajya Sabha member K Kesava Rao and others looked on.The talks later went on to the dining table with the two Chief Minister’s having lunch together.
Informal talk between the duo led to intrigue in political circles, as the meeting occurred just before Rao left for Delhi to take up the issue of paddy procurement with the Centre. KCR has been involved in a bitter fight with the Centre on the issue.The two Telugu States are at loggerheads over sharing of river Krishna and Godavari waters and power generation from the common reservoirs of Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar.
Both the States have even lodged complaints with the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and river water management boards. The ministers of the two States also locked horns over the issue before the Centre intervened and notified the jurisdictions of the river management boards of Krishna and Godavari.
Bone of contention
The two States are at loggerheads over sharing of river Krishna and Godavari waters and power generation from the common reservoirs of Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar