Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government was generating power at the Srisailam Dam in violation of established norms, ignoring the irrigation and drinking water needs of Telangana.Addressing the media at Gandhi Bhavan along with MLAs Vamshikrishna and Rakesh Reddy, the Minister said there is a clear rule that power generation should not be undertaken at the Srisailam reservoir once the minimum water level falls to 834 feet (254.2 metres). Despite this stipulation, the A.P. government had been drawing water and producing electricity illegally and unjustly, he alleged.The Minister stated that repeated representations were made to the Andhra Pradesh government on the issue, but there was no response. “Without considering the irrigation and drinking water requirements of Telangana, the A.P. government continued power generation, affecting our rightful water share,” he said.In protest, public representatives from the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district gave a call for a ‘vanta-varpu’ (community cooking protest) programme at Srisailam to safeguard the interests of farmers in the joint Mahabubnagar district and people living in the Krishna river basin region.The Minister claimed that following their warnings and protest call, the Andhra Pradesh government stopped power generation at Srisailam. He asserted that the interests of the State are paramount for the Congress government. “There will be no compromise on water allocations due to Telangana. The government, the Congress and public representatives are fully prepared to defend our rights,” he said.Warning the Andhra Pradesh government against any future violations, Mr. Krishna Rao said the Telangana government would stand firmly with farmers if any loss was caused to the Palamuru region. “If such incidents are repeated, we will not remain silent,” he said.Published - March 31, 2026 06:31 pm IST