The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) arrived at the Nagarjuna Sagar dam in Telangana’s Nalgonda district on Friday, December 1, after both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh agreed to temporarily hand over the supervision of water release from the dam to them. The CRPF personnel were deployed following the intervention by the Union Home Ministry to defuse the tension between the two states over the dam across Krishna River. The suggestion was made by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla during a resolution meeting.
The officials of Telangana’s Irrigation department also arrived at the dam premises on Friday to assess the overall situation, amid tightened police security where clashes were reported between the police personnel of Telangana and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh a few hours ahead of the polling time on Thursday.
Around 2 am on Thursday, as Telangana police in the Nagarjuna Sagar area were making arrangements for the Assembly elections, hundreds of police personnel from Andhra Pradesh entered the premises and installed barbed wires at 13 gates. This sparked altercations between the respective police forces of the two states. The atmosphere remained tense on Friday as Telangana irrigation officials complained about the alleged unlawful entry. They also accused the Andhra police of damaging concrete structures and releasing water from the Nagarjuna Sagar dam. Telangana officials have filed a complaint at the Nagarjuna Sagar police station.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday held a video conference with the Secretary of Union Water Resources Ministry, Jal Sangam officials, Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) officials, the Chief Secretaries of both the states, Irrigation department officials, and top police officers.
During the meeting, Telangana's Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari stated that on the night of November 29, approximately 500 armed police personnel from Andhra Pradesh entered the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and destroyed CCTV cameras, opened the head regulators at gates 5 and 7, and released approximately 5,000 cusecs of water to Andhra Pradesh. She said that this could hamper the water needs of around two crore people in Hyderabad and the surrounding areas. She also expressed concerns that this action by the Andhra Pradesh government during the Telangana Legislative Assembly elections has posed a significant threat to peace and security in their state.
Ajay Kumar said that a special meeting will be held with the Secretary of the Union Water Resources Department on this issue soon. In the meantime, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have agreed to the temporary suggestions made during the meeting.
Meanwhile, the Opposition parties in Telangana have alleged that the incident was a plot by the incumbent chief ministers of both states to sway voters. Communist Party of India (CPI) Secretary Narayana said, “Both the CMs of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have conspired to create sentiments that could reflect on elections for political gain. The water dispute exists, but it has to be noted that this issue took place on polling day,” he said.
Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy also said the incident seemed suspicious. “It is a strategic move (by the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi). Nagarjuna Sagar dam won’t go anywhere. The gates and the water won’t go anywhere. The people of Telangana are intelligent. Very soon a new government will form and this water dispute will be resolved. These water issues are unresolved because of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s poor governance in nine and half years,” he said.