‘Stop water diversion from Srisailam to Nagarjuna Sagar to protect Rayalaseema interests’

Rayalaseema Saguneeti Sadhana Samithi president Bojja Dasaratha Rami Reddy has urged the government to immediately halt diversion of water from the Srisailam reservoir to Nagarjuna Sagar, warning that continued releases can trigger drinking water crisis in Rayalaseema.Mr. Rami Reddy met the Chief Engineer of Irrigation for the combined Kurnool district on Thursday and discussed the region’s water situation. He alleged that poor water management by successive governments had aggravated water scarcity in Rayalaseema and other parts of the State.In a press release, he said Srisailam storage should first be protected to meet the drinking water and irrigation requirements of Rayalaseema, particularly as several irrigation projects in the region were yet to be completed and storage capacity in its reservoirs remained inadequate.Questioning the release of water to Nagarjuna Sagar through power-generation facilities, Mr. Rami Reddy said the State government should not take decisions without considering Rayalaseema’s requirements.Andhra Pradesh had sought around 47 tmc from the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to meet drinking water needs up to October, including about 14 tmc for Nagarjuna Sagar. Considering the requirements of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he said, the combined requirement should have been around 25-26 tmc. However, nearly 53 TMC had already been diverted from Srisailam to Nagarjuna Sagar, he alleged.Mr. Rami Reddy warned that excessive depletion of Srisailam storage could create acute drinking water shortages in the coming months. He said the situation could have been better had last year’s inflows been conserved as carry-over storage, which, according to him, could have helped regulate 350-400 tmc of water this year.He demanded that the government make safeguarding Srisailam storage, meeting Rayalaseema’s irrigation needs and ensuring drinking water supply its immediate priorities.If the issue could not be resolved through the KRMB and Central Water Commission, Mr. Rami Reddy urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to take it up directly with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.He said the water crisis in Rayalaseema required urgent attention and a long-term solution, comparing its seriousness with major inter-State water disputes. Published - August 27, 2026 08:48 pm IST