CMs of AP and Telangana meet; water row ends in thaw

HYDERABAD: The bitter dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over sharing of water of Nagarjuna Sagar dam ended in a thaw with Chief Ministers N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao meeting in the presence of common Governor ESL Narasimhan here today.

Leaving behind the bitterness witnessed yesterday in which policemen of the two states almost came to blows at the dam site, the state governments today decided to see that standing crops in both the states are saved.

After the conclusion of about a two-hour-long meeting between the Chief Ministers, Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao and Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister D Umamaheswara Rao jointly addressed mediapersons.

Irrigation Engineers-in-Chief (ENCs) of both the states would sit and decide on release of water, they said.

"It was decided in the meeting that, as per availability of water in Nagarjuna Sagar dam, crops in the two states should be saved in the larger interests of farmers," Harish Rao said.

"It is decided that the two states should very carefully use the available water so that crops don't dry up. ENCs of both states should sit, discuss and see that crops both in Telangana or Andhra are saved," he said.

The help of Central Government officials would be taken and some principles adopted with regard to sharing of water in (future) the coming Kharif season, he said.

In view of yesterday's incident, policemen from both the states and political workers would not be allowed to go on to the dam. The operations of the dam would be conducted by engineers of the two states, Harish Rao said.

Observing that both states would act in coordination, Umamaheswara Rao said Chief Ministers, Irrigation Ministers, Principal Secretaries of irrigation, ENCs would communicate and review from time to time.