Photo Credit : K.N,Hari
Hyderabad : In a heightened state of tension between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh at the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been deployed to the site in Nalgonda district.
The intervention came after Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla conducted a video conference with the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of both states. The consensus reached during the conference involved restoring the situation to pre-November 28 conditions, transferring control of the dam to the Krishna River Water Management Board (KRMB), and deploying CRPF personnel at the dam.
Telangana Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari reported that on the night of November 29, around 500 armed Andhra Pradesh police personnel entered the dam premises. They allegedly damaged CCTV cameras and released 5,000 cusecs of water by operating the head regulator. This action, she asserted, created a law and order problem, particularly on a day when Telangana was occupied with state Assembly elections. She highlighted that this was the second such incident initiated by Andhra Pradesh.
The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has convened a meeting on Saturday to address the ongoing issue, inviting Chief Secretaries from both states, the Chairman of KRMB, officials from the Central Water Commission, and the Directors General of the CRPF and the CISF.
Telangana Police registered two cases against Andhra Pradesh Police for alleged trespassing. The FIR stated that around 500 Andhra Pradesh police personnel forcefully entered the dam premises, laid barbed wire fencing, trespassed on the right canal head regulator, and operated the right canal head regulator irregularly by releasing water for the Andhra region.
The KRMB has directed Andhra Pradesh to cease drawing water from the right canal, citing the control division of Srisailam dam by Andhra Pradesh and Nagarjuna Sagar dam by the Telangana government since the bifurcation. The situation remains tense, and investigations are ongoing. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
