Paddy crop in 8L acres at risk due to water scarcity

Hyderabad: Paddy crops in more than 8 lakh acres are at risk of withering in Telangana due to acute water shortage in the ongoing Rabi season. A preliminary assessment by the agriculture department has highlighted depleting groundwater levels and the drying up of open wells and borewells as major concerns for farmers, officials said. The prevailing heatwave has further worsened the situation, raising fears of a significant decline in paddy yield.

In this Rabi season, paddy is cultivated in about 45 lakh acres in the state. However, nearly 8 lakh acres are now in jeopardy due to water shortage. Groundwater levels have been falling at an alarming rate since January, even before the official onset of summer. The average groundwater level, which stood at 6.8 metres in December 2024, dropped sharply to 9.2 metres by February 2025.

Vikarabad district is the worst affected, with groundwater levels plunging to 13.12 metres. A recent groundwater report revealed that only six districts in Telangana have water levels below 6 metres, while nine districts have levels between 6 and 12 metres. Alarmingly, eight districts have recorded groundwater depths exceeding 12 metres.

Desperate farmers have been hiring water tankers to save their crops, but the high costs have forced many to abandon this option. Distressing scenes of farmers feeding dried paddy crops as fodder to cattle have emerged from undivided Nizamabad, Adilabad, Nalgonda, Warangal, Karimnagar, and Medak districts.

In a last-ditch effort to salvage their standing crops, some farmers are digging new borewells up to 1,000 feet deep. However, plummeting groundwater levels have led to frequent borewell failures, compounding financial losses.

The situation has given rise to exploitative practices, with borewell contractors reportedly charging over Rs.2 lakh for digging borewells ranging from 500 to 1,000 feet.