The Hindu Business Line : Naidu seeks time to respond to TN request for water

The Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, and his Tamil Nadu counterpart, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, coming out after a brief discussion at the State Secretariat on release of water from the Kandaleru reservoir in Nellore district. - A. Roy Chowdhury

Hyderabad , Nov. 28

THE Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, today requested the Andhra Pradesh Government to release about 3 tmc feet of water from the Telugu Ganga project to meet drinking water requirement of Chennai city.

After a meeting with the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, here at the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said the release of 3 tmc water from the dead storage of Kandaleru reservoir in Nellore district would help augment the water supply to Chennai.

Mr Naidu said he would discuss the matter and convey the State Government stand within the next two-three days.

Mr Naidu explained to Ms Jayalalithaa and her officials that the State had to face a severe drought year and the level of reservoirs was much below average storage levels. And based on the assessment of the situation, he would hold parleys with the State administration, before taking an appropriate decision on the matter.

Later, the State Major Irrigation Minister, Mr Kadiam Srihari, , told newspersons that the modalities would be based on the outcome of the decision. The delay in taking a decision was necessitated by the low reservoir levels that support the drinking water requirements of the metro, he said.

The Tamil Nadu team was conveyed that the water level at Kandaleru reservoir was about 4 tmc feet and at Somasila about 16 tmc feet.

Since the Kandaleru reservoir provides water for the Tirupati region and also handles some riparian interest of the region, the State would have to do an assessment study before committing on the release of water to Chennai, he explained.

Ms Jayalalithaa in her discussions said that during the last three years Tamil Nadu had received 3.591 tmc ft; 3.439 tmc ft and 3.260 tmc ft of Krishna water out of the total yearly entitlement of 12 tmc ft of water.

However, during 2003, it had not received any water from Kandaleru reservoir due to poor storage.

With scanty rains, the combined storage at Poondi, Cholavaram and Red Hills is 299 mcft as on November 27, 2003, which is just 4 per cent of the total combined storage of 7,412 mcft.

This storage at the present reduced rate of supply on alternate days, can last only up to December 15, 2003. This is the worst storage in the last 55 years, she said.

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