The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Tamil Nadu urged to send technical team

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Tamil Nadu urged to send technical team

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 13. The Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has requested his Tamil Nadu counterpart, Jayalalithaa, to depute a technical team to Andhra Pradesh to explore the possibility of supplying Krishna water to Chennai City.

He was responding to a letter written by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on September 10 seeking supply of 15 tmcft of water from Srisailam to Chennai.

Worrying situation

Recalling his earlier communication, Dr. Reddy said water levels in the Kandaleru and Somasila reservoirs were far below the minimum drawdown level. However, a technical team of his Government was visiting Kandaleru on September 15 once again to assess the feasibility of supplying water to Chennai.

"I request you to depute your technical team to explore the best way in the given situation," he added. Simultaneously, a senior irrigation official has written to his opposite numbers in Karnataka and Maharashtra reminding them of their States' commitment to supply five tmcft each to meet the drinking water needs of Chennai and asking them to fulfil it immediately.

Meanwhile, official sources here said the Government was in a piquant situation as there is just four tmcft of water in the Somasila Project whereas the projects needed 21 tmcft before engineers can contemplate any release in Kandaleru for onward supply to Chennai.

In spite of the crisis situation, water was not being supplied from the reservoirs even for drinking water purpose.

The sources pointed out that inflows into the Srisailam reservoir did not count for much since it was only a balancing reservoir and Karnataka had released excess water but not Andhra Pradesh's due share.

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