SW monsoon to set agenda for TS, AP

Hyderabad: The dodging Southwest monsoon which is lurking over the Kerala coastline is all set come first on the immediate agenda of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who met his Telangana counterpart K Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday.

It may be mentioned here that both the Telugu States are at loggerheads over the sharing of Godavari and Krishna waters every year at the start of monsoon season as the Kharif season picks up from June first week.

According to sources, this time, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier predicted normal monsoon touching down the Andaman Nicobar Island between May 18-25 and advance to hit the Kerala coast.

As predicted, the monsoon had arrived two days earlier to the Kerala cost by May 22.

It is further expected to cover Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana in the first week of June.

This means, only fewer inflows into the Godavari in the first week making both the States dependent on the inflows from the upstream from Karnataka into river Krishna at the start of Kharif agricultural season.

Both the States are expected to meet at the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) with their water demands for Kharif in the first week of June this year for allocation of water.

Sources in the Andhra Pradesh Irrigation department said as of now there is no change in the stand in regard to making a pitch before the KRMB over utilisation of the Krishna water share for the State.

However, there is a long-standing argument from the side of Telangana that AP was taking water from Pothireddypadu Head Regulator (PPHR) to an extent of 1,500 cusecs intended to provide darning water to Chennai.

That apart, Telangana has also brought in the in-basin and out-basin argument insisting to calculate the utilisation of the Krishna water by Andhra Pradesh and consider the requirements of the out-basic projects only after meeting the demands of the in-basic projects with 75 per cent dependable waters.

Telangana State's insistence on the Krishna water utilisation assessment of AP projects will include the entire Krishna Delta covering, Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar.

Besides, Kadapa and Kurnool canals which the TS considers to fall under the category of out-basin.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official from the AP Irrigation Department said it all depends on the inflows. As of now, the June-September rainfall is predicated normal.

But what matters for both of us is the monthly average rainfall in the upper reaches which boost the inflows meeting the starting of agriculture season from the first week of June. If the water inflows are good, then there would be no problem.

Otherwise, it would be like a repeat of 2017 situation, in which, the farmers were asked not to go for wet crops unless the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar Projects (NSP) get filled up.

However, the situation might ease up after June 10 as the rainfall expected in the upper reaches of Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh which would bring in good inflows into the Godavari.

In turn, the water lifted from the Godavari would meet the demands of the Krishna delta through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (PLIS), he added.