Current Rains Temporary, Crop Season Still in Trouble: Tummala

Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Thursday cautioned farmers not to begin celebrating the ongoing spells of rain in various districts warning that the “rainfall received over the past two days will provide some relief to crops, it will not be sufficient to sustain them until harvest.”

Chairing a review meeting with senior officials from various departments on El Nino preparedness in Rajanna Siricilla district, Nageswara Rao also made it clear that all the available water in various reservoirs must be saved and used only to meet drinking water requirements, and in such a manner that supplies lasted till July 2027.

“The Super El Nino is expected to have a greater impact on South India with below-normal rainfall. Officials must prepare plans to ensure that all available water is used for drinking water needs until next July,” he told the meeting.

He also directed police officials to maintain law and order while closely monitoring all related matters.

Noting that inadequate rainfall over the past two months significantly reduced crop cultivation, the minister instructed officials to educate farmers on suitable crops to cultivate in the coming month, including rainfed, short-duration, pulses, and oil palm.

He also said that the groundwater levels had fallen by more than two metres compared to last year, and since water from all reservoirs in the district could not be released for irrigation, officials should regularly inform the public and farmers about groundwater conditions.

The minister also instructed officials to prepare a comprehensive plan for Mission Bhagiratha drinking water supply in the district and to make all arrangements for the effective distribution of reservoir water.

The meeting was attended by minister Ponnam Prabhakar, Government Whip and Vemulawada MLA Adi Srinivas, MLAs Kavvampalli Satyanarayana and Medipalli Satyam, district collector Garima Agrawal, and superintendent of police Mahesh B. Gite among others.