CM Vijay likely to meet Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan over water-sharing issues

CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is likely to visit Vijayawada on Tuesday (October 13) to meet Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to discuss water-sharing issues and river interlinking projects, according to Daily Thanthi reports.

The proposed visit comes amid concerns over Tamil Nadu not receiving its allocated share of Krishna river water under the Telugu Ganga Project and Andhra Pradesh's reported plans to construct dams on rivers flowing into Tamil Nadu.

Krishna water supply

Under the Telugu Ganga Project, Andhra Pradesh is required to supply 12 TMC of Krishna river water annually to Tamil Nadu at the state border to meet Chennai's drinking water requirements.

However, Tamil Nadu had received only 2.251 TMC of water as of October 9 this year.

The shortfall has raised concerns over Chennai's drinking water supply, while the reported plans to construct dams on rivers flowing from Andhra Pradesh into Tamil Nadu have added to apprehensions over the state's future water availability.

River interlinking on agenda

Vijay is expected to discuss these issues with the Andhra Pradesh leadership, along with the possibility of implementing river interlinking projects to address water requirements.

However, there has been no official confirmation from the Tamil Nadu government regarding the proposed visit or the meetings.

Karnataka visit cancelled

Earlier, Vijay had planned to visit Karnataka in August to discuss the Cauvery river water dispute. However, the visit was cancelled after protests by Kannada organisations opposing the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had also requested Vijay to postpone his visit amid the protests.