Hyderabad, 23 September

Telangana Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Wednesday said Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar responded positively to a request to release Krishna River water from the Almatti and Narayanpur reservoirs to save crops in downstream Telangana.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy thanked Shivakumar.

"This is a great example of bonhomie between two different states and showcases the love and brotherhood of people of India," Reddy stated on X.

On Wednesday, Krishna Rao, Telangana Sports Minister Vakiti Srihari and several other ruling Congress MLAs met Shivakumar in Bengaluru for the second time in two days and urged him to release water.

The delegation apprised Shivakumar of the water shortage and the current status of crops in Mahabubnagar district, which borders Karnataka.

Shivakumar responded positively to the request and directed his government officials to take steps for water release, according to a release from Krishna Rao's office.

The visiting delegation had also met Shivakumar in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening and told him that the crops in the command area of Jurala, Nettempadu, Bhima and Koilsagar projects in Telangana were at a crucial stage and needed water for further growth.

The delegation said that crops are cultivated in about 5.5 lakh acres under the four irrigation projects and requested Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water for a month to save the crops.

The Telangana government's request came amid protests by farmers in the command area of Jurala project in Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana, demanding water release to save their crops.