Karnataka to release water

Hyderabad, Aug 10: The Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao has written an SOS letter to Karnataka requesting the release of 15 TMC ft water from Almatti/Narayanpur reservoirs here on Wednesday to meet the drinking water shortage for Hyderabad and fluoride-affected areas of Nalgonda district, which draw water from Nagarjunasagar Project (NSP).

Less than 24 hours after Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao's appeal, the Karnataka government agreed to release 15 tmc of water from Narayanpur reservoirs in view of the acute drinking water shortage in Telangana, especially in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

In a letter to his Karnataka counterpart MB Patil, Rao said there was a shortage in fluoride-affected areas of Nalgonda district too. As against the normal Minimum Draw Down Level (MDDL) of 510 feet, the current water level in Nagarjuna Sagar project was only 500.5 feet, he wrote.

Without any inflows, it would not be impossible to meet drinking water needs. He urged Patil to instruct authorities concerned to release 15 tmc from Narayanpur.

Nagarjuna Sagar project Chief Engineer S Sunil on Wednesday also called upon Patil. The Minister asked him to meet the authorities of Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam, the water management board of Karnataka, for further assistance.