Hyderabad, June 25 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday appealed to the Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil to find a permanent solution to the inter-state water sharing issue of Tungabhadra river expeditiously.

Addressing a public meeting at Hosapete in Karnataka on the occasion of inauguration of newly-installed gates of Tungabhadra dam, the Chief Minister asserted that today is a ‘ Red Letter ‘ day as the Chief Ministers of three states attended a meeting chaired by the Union Minister C.R. Paatil on Tungabhadra water sharing issue.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) here, Revanth Reddy emphasised that all the political forces should rise above politics to the cause of the farmers in the three states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

He termed meeting of the three Chief Ministers and Union Minister Paatil as the first step to resolve water sharing issue amicably.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that the inauguration of new 33 gates at Tungabhadra dam is a big initiative to resolve the water sharing dispute.

“The installation of new gates would also address the plight of lakhs of farmers. Even the Mysore Kings set aside the disputes and came forward to find a solution for the sake of farmers,” the Chief Minister remarked.

He said that the Telangana farmers could use only five to six TMC of the allocated 17.9 TMC of water from Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) in Gadwal, Alampur, and Palamuru regions.

Another 10 TMC of allocated water is not being used due to various reasons, he added.

He said that the Telangana government has already brought the issues of silt accumulation in the Tungabhadra river and water allocation disputes to the Union Minister’s attention.

“We resolved to find a permanent solution to the water crisis in the meeting,” he added.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy stressed that priority should be accorded to finding solutions instead of indulging in water sharing disputes.

“It was a momentous occasion that the discussions on water sharing issue were held on the banks of the Tungabhadra river,” he said and hoped that the meeting will pave the way for a permanent resolution to inter-state water disputes.

–IANS

ms/khz