In a blatant display of Seemandhra hegemony over Telangana, CM Kiran Kumar Reddy ordered release of 18 TMC of water from Nagarjuna Sagar Project to Krishna Delta. This move will result in thousands of villages in Telangana region being denied even drinking water.
Currently, the Nagarjuna Sagar project is almost at dead storage level and as per norms, only drinking water needs should be met at this stage.
Ideally, NS Left Bank canal (which caters to Telangana region) should receive water before the Krishna Delta. But hectic lobbying by Seemandhra politicians is resulting in Seemandhra region getting undue benefits even from projects located in Telangana.
Adding insult to injury, State Irrigation minister Sudarshan Reddy (who hails from Telangana) said that only (rain) gods will bring water to Telangana.
CM’s move and Sudarshan Reddy’s nonchalance has severely angered the Telangana activists. Several protests were held by TRS, CPI and New Democracy parties at Nagarjuna Sagar, Nalgonda, Miryalagudem and Kodada. Some TRS activists stood in the River Krishna to force the irrigation authorities to stop the release of water.
Photo: Protests by TRS and CPI in front of Nagarjuna Sagar Power House
TJAC Chairman Prof. Kodandaram, TRS leader Harish Rao, Congress MP Palvai Goverdhan Reddy, condemned the partial nature of the water release. CPI MLA Ujjini Yadagiri Rao, TRS leader Banda Narender Reddy participated in protests held at Nagarjuna Sagar.
Stung by the intensity of the protests, Nagarjuna Sagar engineers have temporarily halted the release of water during the day. But yielding to pressure from higher ups, the project gates were opened clandestinely during the night.
The fact that Telangana will never get justice in a unified Andhra Pradesh state was once again proved with the latest behavior of AP Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Nagarjuna Sagar Project was initially planned during Nizam’s rule. United AP government changed the plan of the project after the merger of Telangana with Andhra in 1956. According to the new plan, Seemandhra region received higher water share than the Telangana region. The project is a live example of how Telangana is discriminated in the united Andhra Pradesh state.