Hyderabad: Fireworks at river meet

Hyderabad: The meeting on linking of Godavari- Cauvery was held on a stormy note on Friday. The Telangana Government strongly opposed the proposal floated by the Union government and demanded the Centre to address the water disputes which had arisen after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh on a priority basis. Official sources said that Telangana Engineer- In- Chief Muralidhar Rao and another senior Irrigation official Nagendar Rao presented the state government's stand on the Centre's proposal to link the two southern rivers.

The officials took objection to the way the Centre had worked out a unilateral proposal without consulting the stakeholder States.

The officials explained to the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) about the plight of Telangana after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in the utilisation of river waters. The linking of the rivers is unwarranted without addressing the concerns raised by the Telangana on river water sharing, they said. The officials argued that the available water in Godavari was enough to meet the requirement of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

There would not be any excess water available thereafter. The issue of surplus water will be sorted out only after the finalisation of water sharing between the two Telugu states. The TS government reiterated that the Centre should take up Mahanadi - Godavari linking project first.

The Centre is planning to lift 247 tmc feet of water from Godavari under the inter-state river linking project. Out of 247 tmc, it proposes to supply 85 tmc to Tamil Nadu for drinking purposes and the remaining water will be supplied to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh from Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir.