Karnataka releases water to Telangana

Telangana’s request for release of Krishna water from Narayanpur reservoir to Jurala project to meet the drinking water needs of the people in erstwhile Mahabubnagar district. Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy called up Chandrashekhar Rao and informed him that 2.5 TMC water would be released from Narayanpur late Friday evening.

Chandrashekhar Rao had, in a telephonic talk with his Karnataka counterpart earlier, requested release of 3 TMC water from Narayanpur since the water level at Jurala project had plummeted to 1.93 tmcft against its full capacity of 9.66 tmcft. Kumaraswamy discussed the issue with his officials and issued instructions for release of 2.5 TMC for Telangana. Later, he personally telephoned Chandrashekhar Rao and informed him about the decision.

Chandrashekhar Rao described Karnataka’s decision as good news for the people of erstwhile Mahabubnagar district. On behalf of the people, he thanked Kumaraswamy. Both the Chief Ministers expressed the desire to sustain the cordial and friendly relationship between the two States in future too. The Chief Minister’s ability and skill to maintain good and friendly relations with neighbouring States has come in for praise from



several quarters in the past.

The Chief Minister has often said that all political leaders should inculcate the “live and let live” approach that would serve everyone’s purpose. Last year, Chandrashekhar Rao had responded positively to the Karnataka government’s request to release 1 tmcft water to it from Telangana’s share in Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) to tackle the drinking water shortage in the Tungabhadra basin. Further, the Telangana government did not oppose the proposal by the Karnataka government to construct a new dam with a storage capacity of 40 tmcft on Tungabhadra river. Karnataka too had reciprocated by releasing 1 TMC to Telangana in 2016-17 and 2017-18 to Jurala project.

According to Chief Secretary S K Joshi, water levels came down steeply in the reservoirs of erstwhile Mahabubnagar district, resulting in acute shortage of drinking water being faced in the habitations dependent on Jurala project. He requested his Karnataka counterpart to give necessary directions to the Narayanpur project authorities for release of water. The Karnataka officials started releasing the water in the evening.