KRMB tells TS, AP to stop using Srisailam water

Hyderabad: The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) on Friday asked the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh State governments to stop drawing water from Srisailam as the water levels in the reservoir dropped to Minimum Draw Down Level  (MDDL) of 815 feet.State Irrigation officials said that the available water in the Srisailam reservoir was 49 TMC only. The total capacity of the reservoir is 215 TMC. 

Reports said that Andhra Pradesh utilised 72 per cent of the available water as against the allocation of 66 per cent. The TS government lodged a complaint with KRMB that AP was drawing water and shifted to Muchumarri and Handri – Neeva projects more than the allocations.Taking serious note of the exploitation of river Krishna water by Andhra Pradesh, the board chairman RK Gupta stopped the two States from utilisation of water after the levels dropped to MDDL. 

The board instructed the two States to submit fresh intents for the utilisation of water for drinking purpose in the ensuing summer season.The board also warned the two States of impending water crisis if available water at Nagarjuna Sagar was used excessively. Currently, water levels in the Sagar has come down to 163 TMC, out of 312 TMC capacity.