Ponnam Seeks Drought-Hit Status for Two Mandals

Transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar has requested Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to declare Chigurumamidi and Saidapur mandals in Karimnagar district, which fall under his Husnabad constituency, as drought-affected areas.

In a letter to the Chief Minister on Tuesday, the minister said the two mandals were facing severe drought due to deficient rainfall caused by El Nino, affecting residents and farmers.

He said the agriculture sector was in crisis in several mandals because of the rainfall deficit and expressed concern that a drinking water shortage could develop in the coming days.

Of the seven mandals in the Husnabad Assembly constituency, two had already been declared drought-affected. The situation in the remaining five was also poor, he said.

Prabhakar urged the Chief Minister to include Chigurumamidi and Saidapur in the drought-affected list, citing the difficulties faced by residents and farmers.

He also said people in several villages and mandals had been passing unanimous resolutions urging the government to declare their areas drought-affected.