BRS MLA T Harish Rao
Hyderabad: BRS legislature party deputy leader and former minister T Harish Rao, on Tuesday, questioned why chief minister A Revanth Reddy was not demanding an Apex Council meeting as Andhra Pradesh allegedly continued to draw excess Krishna river water.
Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan along with party leaders, Harish Rao accused the state government of failing to safeguard Telangana’s water interests.
He alleged that Andhra Pradesh had already utilised 664 TMC of Krishna waters — about 80 per cent — and had drawn an additional 16 TMC beyond its allocated quota.
Citing a letter written on January 28 by the then irrigation department Engineer-in-Chief to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), Harish Rao said the issue of excess drawal had been formally brought to the board’s notice.
He questioned why the Engineer-in-Chief’s post was left vacant after the official retired on January 31.
The BRS leader further claimed that Andhra Pradesh had diverted another 1.5 TMC of water on Tuesday alone.
He referred to a February 6 communication from the KRMB to Andhra Pradesh, stating that 555 TMC had already been drawn and directing the state to stop further utilisation.
Harish Rao also targeted Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, asking what steps they had taken at the Centre to protect Telangana’s share of Krishna waters.
He accused both the Congress and the BJP of failing Telangana on the water-sharing issue.
Demanding immediate intervention, he said water diversions to Andhra Pradesh must be halted, and Telangana’s allocated share should be secured to meet future requirements at key reservoirs such as Srisailam Dam and Nagarjuna Sagar Dam.
Harish Rao added that during the previous BRS government, telemetry systems were installed at 19 locations along the Krishna River to monitor water usage.
He alleged that the present Congress government had not set up a single new telemetry point and remained silent even after the board reportedly utilised Rs 4 crore allocated for the purpose.
Stating that the BRS would launch a direct agitation over Krishna water rights, he warned that the party was prepared to lay siege to the KRMB office and raise the matter in Parliament if necessary.
This post was last modified on February 11, 2026 10:11 am