Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay travelled to Andhra Pradesh on October 13 to press for the scheduled release of Krishna water to Tamil Nadu and discuss river-linking issues, according to a report by Dinamalar – Tamil Nadu. He also visited the Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada before meeting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The visit centres on the Kandaleru reservoir and the arrangement under which Andhra Pradesh is expected to provide 11 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of Krishna water to Tamil Nadu every year. The report said the water has not been released to Tamil Nadu regularly, despite the state paying an annual canal maintenance charge of Rs 100 crore to Andhra Pradesh’s Water Resources Department.
Vijay travelled to Vijayawada’s Gannavaram airport on a special flight along with Water Resources Minister Anand, Chief Secretary Saikumar and Water Resources Secretary Prashant Vadnere. From the airport, he went to the Kanaka Durga temple, located on Indrakeeladri Hill on the banks of the Krishna River.
The Tamil Nadu delegation’s stated objective was to urge the Andhra Pradesh government to release the Krishna water to Tamil Nadu according to the established arrangement. The reported discussions also include river-water linking, a subject that requires coordination between states and their water-resources departments.
The issue combines two separate but connected administrative questions: whether the agreed quantity of water is being released on schedule, and whether the canal system used for transmission is being maintained through the payments made by Tamil Nadu. The reported annual maintenance payment of Rs 100 crore indicates that the arrangement involves continuing financial and operational responsibilities in addition to the water allocation itself.
The Krishna water arrangement has direct implications for Tamil Nadu’s water planning because the state depends on inter-state coordination for supplies routed through infrastructure outside its territory. Any irregularity in release schedules can affect the timing and management of water resources within Tamil Nadu, although the supplied report does not provide details of current storage levels, pending releases or the outcome of the chief ministers’ meeting.
The visit took place alongside Vijay’s temple programme in Vijayawada. Temple officials welcomed him with traditional ceremonial honours and presented him with prasadam and photographs of Kanaka Durga and Malleswara Swamy, the report said. Devotees gathered at the temple also raised slogans on seeing the chief minister.
The immediate administrative outcome of the reported meeting between Vijay and Naidu, including any release schedule, revised operating arrangement or formal decision on river linking, was not specified in the supplied report.
