Chennaiites can heave a sigh of relief this summer as Andhra Pradesh has agreed to release 12 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of Krishna water from the first week of May.
Senior PWD (public works department) officials told DC that their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh have assured to release continuously this year the 4 tmcft TN is eligible for during the January-April period and another 8 tmcft for the July-October period.
Water would be released immediately after repairing the aqueduct at Uppalamadugu in the upstream of Krishna canal within the AP border, officials added.
The temporary repair work would be taken up between April 10 and 15 and completed in 10 days, the officials pointed out, adding that the water would be released either late April or the first week of May.
AP delayed water release for January-April period this year after damage was detected in the aqueduct in Uppalamadugu. Fortunately for Chennai, the AP government obliged and preferred to carry out the temporary repair work to prevent further delay in water release.