El Niño preparedness: Telangana govt working on advance plans, says Ponguleti

Telangana is taking advance measures to deal with possible drought-like conditions arising from the impact of El Niño, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said in the Legislative Assembly on Friday.

Participating in a short-duration discussion on El Niño, the minister said the government had identified the potential challenges early and was coordinating with all departments under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to minimise the impact on agriculture, livestock and other sectors.

Ponguleti said El Niño had occurred in 1951, 1965, 1972, 1982, 1987, 2002 and 2015, but the present situation was presenting a different set of challenges. In some areas, cloudbursts were resulting in a month's rainfall being received within an hour. Though such intense spells contributed to rainfall figures, the water often failed to benefit people and agriculture adequately, he said.

According to data as of September 10, 17 districts had recorded rainfall deficits ranging from 20% to 46% compared with normal levels. Jogulamba Gadwal recorded the highest deficit at 46%, followed by Hanamkonda at 42%, Wanaparthy at 41%, Nagarkurnool at 39% and Narayanpet at 38%. Warangal and Khammam recorded a 37% deficit each, while Suryapet registered 34%.

The minister said the State Cabinet had discussed the El Niño situation at its July 17 meeting, following which district-level mitigation measures were taken under the supervision of in-charge ministers. Officials were also reviewing alternative crops for areas that received inadequate rainfall.

The dry conditions have also increased farmers' dependence on borewells for irrigation. With around 33 lakh pump sets in operation across the State, power demand has risen sharply. On September 9, Telangana's electricity demand touched a record 19,575 MW. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka was overseeing arrangements to ensure uninterrupted power supply to farmers, Ponguleti said.

He added that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had directed the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry departments to prepare long-term plans to prevent shortages of fodder and drinking water for livestock.

Ponguleti also appealed to the Centre to extend full support to Telangana, rising above political considerations, to help the State deal with the challenges posed by El Niño.