Chennai, 15 Oct 2026: With Chennai's five drinking water reservoirs holding only 35% of their combined storage capacity, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday urged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to release additional Krishna river water to the city during the current water year. Vijay also sought Andhra Pradesh's support for expediting the Godavari-Cauvery river interlinking project during their meeting in Vijaya wada.
During the discus sions, Vijay stressed that Krishna water supplied through the canal network was crucial to Chennai's drinking water security. He pointed out that the city's five reservoirs had only around 35% of their total storage capacity as of Oct 13 and requested Naidu to facilitate additional releases to meet the city's water require ments. The two Chief Ministers also discus s ed the implementation of the proposed Goda vari-Cauvery river interlinking project, which Vijay described as a long-term solution to improve water avail ability across southern states. V
ijay said Tamil Nadu was naturally deficient in surface water resources and depended on neighbour ing states for more than 30% of its water requi rements. The proposed river inter linking project would provide an opportunity to augment surface water availability in both Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, he said.
He pointed out that the project would benefit southern states by supporting agricul ture, improving drink ing water security and strengthening long-term water manage ment.
Vijay urged Naidu to take forward the proposal and extend Andhra Pradesh's cooperation in imple menting the project. He also recalled that he had already requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the Godavari Cauvery interlinking project a project of national importance.
Emphasising the importance of inter state cooperation, Vijay said Tamil Nadu attached considerable significance to working closely with neighbouring states on issues of common interest, particularly water security.
He thanked Naidu for the hospitality extended to the Tamil Nadu delegation in Vijayawada and expressed hope that the meeting would further strengthen cooperation between the two states.
The meeting was attended by Tamil Nadu Rural Develop ment and Water Resources Minister N Anand, Public Works and Sports Develop ment Minister Aadhav Arjuna, Andhra Pra desh Human Resources Development, Informa tion Technology, Elec tronics and Communi cations Minister Nara Lokesh, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Ponguru Narayana and Water Resources Minister Nimmala Rama Naidu.
M ember of Parliament Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, Chief Secretaries of both states, Water Resources Secretaries and senior officials were also present.
Following the meeting, Vijay joined Naidu at the Vijaya wada Utsav celebra tions held at Punnami Ghat. Earlier in the day, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister visited the Sri Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada and offered prayers.