HYDERABAD: TPCC president and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy said a representation would be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat asking them to halt the GO 203. A Congress delegation, led by Uttam, approached the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) on Thursday, opposing the Andhra Pradesh government’s plan to utilise additional 3 TMC water from Srisailam by upgrading the canal systems from the Pothireddypadu head regulators.
Speaking to mediapersons after submitting the representation to KRMB Chairman Chandrashekar Iyer, Uttam said the board’s attention was drawn towards GO No. 203, which involves the sanction of `6,829 crore to upgrade the Pothireddypadu head regulator to draw 80,000 cusecs from the foreshore of Srisailam reservoir. “If AP’s plan to draw 3 TMC per day, in addition to the existing drawing of Krishna water from the foreshore of the Srisailam reservoir, is executed, lakhs of farmers in southern Telangana would get affected.
Besides agriculture, the Krishna water is used for drinking purposes in Hyderabad too,” he said. Uttam also explained to Shekhawat that the Nagarjuna Sagar ayacut would be doomed if the order was implemented. He urged the Union Minister to intervene, to which the latter responded positively, he said. When the enhancement of Pothireddypadu was announced by AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, both in and outside the Assembly, Congress leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy objected to it. He wrote to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on January 4, asking him to protect the interest of the State, Uttam said.
But, KCR did not pay attention to the announcements made by Jagan, he alleged. “This negligence clearly shows that KCR was having some secret understanding with Jagan to allow AP to take away water from Telangana,” he alleged. He asked the KRMB to keep a watch on the utlisation of water by installing telemeters and demanded deployment of CISF to prevent water theft. Meanwhile, TPCC working president A Revanth Reddy submitted a memorandum regarding the issue to Principal Secretary Rajat Kumar on Thursday.