BRS faults A.P. official’s ‘letter’ to KRMB on Telangana’s water share

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has cast doubt on the appropriateness of an Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation) from Andhra Pradesh reportedly sending a letter to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) requesting a 30% water allocation for Telangana in the Basin. During a press conference on Saturday, former Minister V. Srinivas Goud questioned the engineer's authority to discuss Telangana's water share, even if it was an ad hoc matter.

Goud pointed out that Andhra Pradesh had been diverting significant amounts of water from the Krishna River through systems such as Pothireddypadu Head Regulator, Handri-Neeva lift, and K.C. Canal lift, reaching the Penna Basin up to Nellore district, while the in-basin areas of Telangana, including Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, and Khammam districts, were being denied access to their allocated water.

He asked what action the Telangana Irrigation Minister was taking when his Andhra Pradesh counterpart was allegedly violating Telangana's water rights by communicating with the KRMB on the issue. BRS leader V. Srinivas Goud alleged that Advisor to the Government on Irrigation Aditya Nath Das, who had previously served as Chief Secretary and Special Chief Secretary (Water Resources) for Andhra Pradesh, was instructing both State's ENCs to prioritize Andhra Pradesh's interests over Telangana's rights.