Jagan to take help of Telangana State to save AP farmers

Amaravati: Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday emphasised on the need to join hands with Telangana to save the interests of the farmers and meet the drinking water requirements in Andhra Pradesh.

Contrary to the belief so far that Andhra Pradesh will have right over 3,000 tmc ft of Godavari water, Jagan said the state would be able to claim right only on 600 tmc ft of water.

To justify his argument, Jagan explained how the river originates at Nasik and how it meanders into Andhra Pradesh and how the quantum of water availability come down by the time it reaches the lower riparian state of Andhra Pradesh.

In the backdrop of this situation, the chief minister emphasised on the need for cooperating with the Government of Telangana to stabilise the ayacut under the Krishna delta and to provide drinking water to Rayalaseema, Nellore and Prakasam districts by lifting Godavari water and divert them to Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar dams. This would benefit both the Telugu states, he said.

Jagan said that there is every possibility that the availability of water in the next ten years would come down drastically, in case proper measures were not taken.

He said the government was taking decisions only in the larger interests of the state. He said the government will not compromise in protection of state interests.

Taking pot shots at Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, he said it is not enough to claim that he has spent "40 years in industry".

Jagan said AP and Telangana governments would work in tandem for the optimum utilisation of Godavari water for mutual benefit.

"We will try to maintain cordial relations with the neighbouring state of Telangana and are in discussion with it as to how best we can utilise the Godavari water in the most effective manner.

We will enter into bilateral agreements which are mutually beneficial," he said.

Engineering of irrigation projects has changed drastically and instead of dams, now barrages are being built to store water and in the coming days the need for water will go up and the supply will come down.

Even if we can lift 4 tmc ft per day during the rainy season when the river would be in floods we will be in a position to draw about 500 tmc ft of water in the 120-day period, he said.

He alleged that the Opposition is trying to politicise the issue by bringing in regional feelings but we are open to all ideas and suggestions which will benefit the state and take the waters to the parched regions, he said.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu stated that if the government will go by the proposed project then it would cost around Rs 1.6 lakh crore.

If the government connects the Godavari river with Krishna, then it would cost only around Rs 60,000 crore. After investing our money and construct the project what remedy would the state have if the upper riparian state refused to honour the agreement, he asked.