To try and settle the fracas between the two Telugu States over irrigation projects coming up in Telangana, the irrigation ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have agreed to hold talks to find an amicable solution.
When Telangana irrigation minister T Harish Rao rang up his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Devineni Umamaheswhar Rao and asked for talks over the issue, the latter responded positively. Besides asking for a date and venue for the talks, Devineni expressed his desire to hold them in front of Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharathi in the national capital in the near future.
Both have agreed to try and settle the issue between the two States which have been at loggerheads over it for some time.
The call assumes importance as AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had through a Cabinet meeting resolved to move the Supreme Court on the Palamuru - Ranga Reddy lift project and write to the Centre, and his Telangana counterpart KCR promptly accused the former of hatching a conspiracy to obstruct Telangana's development.
Harish Rao said that Devineni had agreed to hold talks on the issue and take it up with the apex body on water sharing between the two Telugu States. Devineni also said that Telangana and Andhra Pradesh should try to protect their interests together by fighting against the illegal projects of Karnataka and Maharashtra. He also said that Telangana's new projects would have an adverse impact on Nagarjuna Sagar, the Krishna delta and drinking water for Hyderabad, and also on the farmers of the Nalgonda and Khammam districts.