Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government was generating power at the Srisailam Dam in violation of established norms, ignoring the irrigation and drinking water needs of Telangana.
Addressing the media at Gandhi Bhavan along with MLAs Vamshikrishna and Rakesh Reddy, the Minister said there is a clear rule that power generation should not be undertaken at the Srisailam reservoir once the minimum water level falls to 834 feet (254.2 metres). Despite this stipulation, the A.P. government had been drawing water and producing electricity illegally and unjustly, he alleged.
The Minister stated that repeated representations were made to the Andhra Pradesh government on the issue, but there was no response. “Without considering the irrigation and drinking water requirements of Telangana, the A.P. government continued power generation, affecting our rightful water share,” he said.
In protest, public representatives from the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district gave a call for a ‘vanta-varpu’ (community cooking protest) programme at Srisailam to safeguard the interests of farmers in the joint Mahabubnagar district and people living in the Krishna river basin region.
