Stalemate continues at Nagarjunasagar Project as A.P. refuses to handover dam security to CRPF

Tension persists at Nagarjunsagar Project site as A.P. continues to draw water unilaterally, despite MoJS & MHA instructions. Meeting held by MoJS Secretary postponed to Dec 6. MoJS counselled A.P. & Telangana to observe restraint. KRMB team visited dam site & reported to CWC. A.P. yet to clear barricades & barbed wire hurdles. CRPF personnel mobilised on A.P. side, Telangana police sent back. A.P. & Telangana at stalemate over water sharing, security & management of dams.

Tension and stalemate continues to prevail at the Nagarjunsagar Project site for the third day on Saturday as the authorities of Andhra Pradesh continue to draw water from the Right Canal unilaterally, in spite of the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) asking A.P. to stop water drawal immediately and the Ministry of Home Affairs instructions to handover the dam security to CRPF personnel.

A meeting held by MoJS Secretary Debashree Mukherjee in New Delhi and attended virtually by the authorities of AP and the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) as also the Directors General of CRPF and CISF has postponed the discussion to December 6 as the authorities from Telangana informed the Delhi authorities that they are tied up with the arrangements for counting of Assembly election votes on Sunday (December 3).

The meeting attended by Central Water Commission authorities physically was scheduled to discuss the tension prevailing between A.P. and Telangana in the matter of Krishna water sharing, management and security of Nagarjunsagar and Srisailam dams and the related issued involving KRMB. Sources stated that the MoJS Secretary has counselled the A.P. and Telangana authorities to observe restraint till the issues were discussed and addressed.

On the other hand a team of KRMB authorities visited the Nagarjunsagar dam site following the instructions of Ministry of Home Affairs issued on Friday asking A.P. to restore the pre-November 28 position at the project site and the MoJS instructions issued on Saturday telling A.P. to immediately stop water drawal. The River Board authorities are understood to be reporting the situation on the ground to the CWC authorities in Delhi.

Meanwhile, official sources told The Hindu that A.P. authorities did not clear the barricades and barbed wire hurdles put up till 13th spillway gate of the project from A.P. side, although the CRPF personnel reached and waiting that side were not allowed to take position/security that side. “We have sent back our police force and allowed CRPF personnel take over the security till half of the spillway this side,” the official stated.

The CRPF contingent mobilised on A.P. side were small in numbers compared to the A.P. State police force deployed there. Over 1,000 police force of Telangana deployed from Friday were sent back following handing over of the dam security to CRPF personnel. “Had we followed the A.P.’s approach, we could have taken over half the spillway of Srisailam, but we don’t believe in civil-war like attitude,” the Telangana official said.