Jagan Reddy Accuses Naidu Over Almatti Dam, Warns of Water Crisis

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) supremo and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy unleashed a torrent of criticism against incumbent Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, accusing him of "completely neglecting" the state's vital water interests as neighboring Karnataka accelerates plans to hike the Almatti Dam's height. The move, Reddy warned, could spell catastrophe for Andhra's farmers, turning fertile deltas into barren wastelands amid escalating interstate water wars.

Reddy's salvo, delivered via a sharply worded YSRCP press release on Wednesday, zeroed in on Karnataka's September 16 Cabinet decision to elevate the dam from 519 meters to 524.256 meters—a 5.256-meter boost that would more than double its storage from 129.72 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) to 279.72 TMC. With a staggering Rs 70,000 crore earmarked solely for land acquisition, the project underscores Karnataka's aggressive push for upper riparian dominance, but at what cost to downstream states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana? "This is a grave threat to our irrigation and drinking water needs," Reddy thundered, painting a dire picture of parched fields and water-starved households. "Entire regions face the danger of turning barren without water. If Naidu cannot safeguard the rights of the state, then why should he hold the post of chief minister at all?"

The Almatti Dam, a hulking hydroelectric behemoth on the Krishna River in Karnataka's Bagalkot district, has long been a flashpoint in the tri-state tussle involving Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Completed in 2005 as part of the Upper Krishna Project, it was initially capped at 518.064 meters (about 170 meters height) by a 2000 Supreme Court order to protect downstream flows. Subsequent tweaks by the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal in 2010 allowed a nudge to 519 meters, granting Karnataka around 8.3 million acre-feet (roughly 290 TMC) of storage—but only with safeguards like spillway gates to release excess water during monsoons. Now, Karnataka's Congress-led government, under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, is reviving a dormant proposal to breach that limit, eyeing an additional 150 TMC of storage to irrigate drought-prone northern districts and bolster hydropower generation.

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Reddy didn't mince words in dredging up Naidu's past failures, harking back to his 1995-2004 tenure when Karnataka allegedly flouted judicial caps by completing spillway and gate works. "Your failures in the past have already caused immense damage, and history is repeating itself today," he charged, alleging that Naidu's much-vaunted Delhi connections—fueled by TDP's 16 Lok Sabha MPs—have yielded zilch. "The yellow media portrays him as running the wheel of power in Delhi, but he's failing to use even an ounce of that strength to press the Centre to halt this expansion," Reddy scoffed, urging Naidu to rally his parliamentary muscle and intervene decisively.

The stakes couldn't be higher for Andhra Pradesh, where the Krishna irrigates over 20 lakh acres across districts like Kurnool, Kadapa, and Nellore, sustaining rice paddies, cotton fields, and millions of livelihoods. For over 25 years, Reddy lamented, the dam's incremental encroachments have ravaged the state during lean monsoons, slashing water shares by up to 30% and triggering farmer suicides and migration crises. "Year after year, our farmers and people have suffered because of Naidu's inaction," he said, spotlighting the human toll: villages without potable water, crops withering under relentless sun, and a fragile ecosystem on the brink.

Compounding the crisis is the ongoing proceedings at the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II), established in 2004 to equitably divvy up the river's 2,110 TMC annual yield among the riparian states. Reddy accused Naidu's administration of submitting "weak and ineffective" arguments, a stark contrast to his own government's robust October 2023 petition demanding Andhra's 512 TMC allocation be ring-fenced. "We fought tooth and nail; now they're mishandling the case without seriousness," he fumed. Meanwhile, the dispute's ripples extend to Telangana, where BRS leader K.T. Rama Rao recently slammed his state's Congress regime for similar silence, warning of a "desert" in southern districts if Karnataka hoards more water.

As Andhra's political temperature soars, Reddy issued a clarion call: "Immediately wake up, use your MPs to pressurise the Centre, halt Karnataka’s plans, and present strong arguments at KWDT-II." He ominously cautioned that Naidu's "betrayal" would etch him into history as "the chief minister who failed his own state," alienating future generations. With no immediate riposte from the TDP-led government or Naidu himself, the standoff risks escalating into a full-blown diplomatic row, potentially dragging in the Supreme Court—where Andhra and Telangana have secured stays in the past—and the Union Jal Shakti Ministry.

This flare-up arrives at a precarious juncture for Andhra, still reeling from post-bifurcation water inequities and climate vagaries. As Karnataka presses ahead with land surveys and environmental clearances, the onus falls on Naidu to bridge rhetoric and resolve. Will he muster the federal heft to avert a water apocalypse, or will Reddy's barbs fuel a resurgent YSRCP narrative ahead of local polls? For now, the Krishna's waters run deep with unresolved grievances, a timeless symbol of shared bounty turned contested curse.

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