Hyderabad: Telangana Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao on Thursday alleged that the Andhra Pradesh Government was not willing to end the ongoing dispute over sharing of river water between the two States.
Speaking to media persons, Harish Rao claimed that he had tried several times over phone to speak to his AP counterpart Devinenii Uma. However, the AP Minister is not responding to his calls. He said that Devineni was apparently afraid that holding negotiations would expose the AP’s stand on the issue.
Harish Rao said that the Telangana Government wants to utilise the water as per decision of Bachawat Tribunal. He said if the projects being constructed in Telangana were illegal, then from where did the Andhra Pradesh Government got permissions for its irrigation projects. He said that the Telangana would not utilise a single drop of water allocated for Andhra Pradesh. He alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Opposition Leader Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy were trying to create obstacles in Telangana’s projects only to gain political mileage.
Earlier, Harish Rao, along with Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, launched the second phase of Mission Kakatiya works in Nachopally of Biknoor mandal in Nizamabad district. (INN)