Excise and Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao addressed a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad on Tuesday. | Photo credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR
Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government is generating power at Srisailam dam in violation of established norms and ignoring the need for irrigation and drinking water in Telangana.
Addressing the media at Gandhi Bhavan along with MLAs Vamshikrishna and Rakesh Reddy, the minister said there is a clear rule that power generation should not be carried out in the Srisailam reservoir once the minimum water level falls to 834 feet (254.2 metres). According to him, despite this provision, the AP government has been withdrawing water and generating electricity illegally and unfairly.
The minister said that repeated representations were made to the Andhra Pradesh government in this regard but no response. “Irrespective of Telangana’s irrigation and drinking water requirements, the AP government continued to generate power, which affected our rightful share of water,” he said.
In protest, public representatives from the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district called for a ‘vanta-varpu’ (community protest against cooking) program in Srisailam to protect the interests of farmers in the joint Mahabubnagar district and people living in the Krishna basin.
The minister claimed that after their warning and protest call, the Andhra Pradesh government stopped power generation in Srisailam. He argued that the interests of the state were paramount to the Congress government. “There will be no compromise on water allocations for the sake of Telangana. The government, Congress and public representatives are fully prepared to defend our rights,” he said.
Warning the Andhra Pradesh government against any future violations, Mr. Krishna Rao said that the Telangana government would stand firm with the farmers if there was any loss to the Palamuru region. “If such incidents are repeated, we will not remain silent,” he said.
Published – 31 March 2026 18:31 IST
