BRS MLA G Jadish Reddy
Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA G Jagdish Reddy on Friday, August 21, blamed the Telangana government for the drought-like situation at the Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP), and not the El Niño effect.
Addressing the media in Nalgonda, the former Telangana minister referred to a statement by Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy that water would not be released into the canals for irrigation even after the water level at NSP reached its maximum storage capacity.
He alleged that such statements revealed a Congress conspiracy to dissuade farmers from taking up paddy cultivation so that the government could avoid the responsibility of procuring the crop and paying a bonus for fine rice.
On July 21, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka said the state government was preparing to deal with El Niño by drawing up a coordinated strategy to protect farmers, drinking water supplies and power.
Vikramarka was speaking at a state-level seminar titled “From Pacific Ocean Warming to Telangana Preparedness”, organised by the Planning Department at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad. Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin also attended the event.
The Deputy CM said the government’s approach went beyond administrative decisions and aimed to make every family and village aware of how El Niño could affect them so they could plan accordingly.
Scientific studies were underway to map how temperature shifts in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, thousands of kilometres away, could affect tanks, streams and villages across Telangana, he said. He added that the resulting data was being used to prepare action plans covering drinking water, irrigation, and the food and water needs of livestock, birds and wildlife.
This post was last modified on August 22, 2026 11:26 am