The shifting of Krishna Water Board office has turned a topic of discussion. During the division of the state, many leaders wanted the government to have a board to solve the water disputes between the states. The water issues were one of the reasons for the division of the state. An office was set up in Hyderabad. There have been demands to shift to Vijayawada. Don’t know why it took seven years to shift Krishna Board office in Vijayawada.
Recently, the AP government wrote a letter to the Centre to shift the office to Visakhapatnam and the Centre has agreed to this. The farmers are agitated over shifting of office. They said the office should either be in Vijayawada or in Rayalaseema but not in Visakha, where Krishna River does not flow.
The government is contemplating to shift the administration to Visakha from Ugadi this year and as part of this, the office is being shifted. Already the RTC administration office is being shifted to the fourth floor of Visakha Dwaraka Bus Station. Immediately after the court orders, the CM office would be shifted. The Secretariat employees’ leaders said that they were ready to move to Visakha.
It is learnt that more than 120 government offices would also be shifted to Visakha after April 13. The government feels that with the capital being shifted to Visakha, there is no point in keeping an office in Vijayawada.
There is an opinion that Vijayawada will be an easily accessible place for all to attend the meetings. Apart from the people living in the areas where the river flows, the officials of both states can also reach the offices easily.
The important places related to Krishna River in Telugu states are Jurala, Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar, Pulichintala and Prakasam Barrage. The farmers will have to come to Vijayawada to request the release of water. Now they will have to go to Visakha to give a memorandum. The farmers are saying that at present when the office is in Hyderabad, the officials were not releasing water from Nagarjuna Sagar Ayacut. If the same board is in Vijayawada the farmers can bring their issues to the officials easily and water can be released in time.
Though there are clear rules on the allocation of water to two states, the government is not following them. The officials working at the respective project sites are influenced by the government decisions and do not consider the orders of the board. There are allegations and counter-allegations between both the states. There are no figures on the lifting of waters through lift irrigation schemes.
