Micro-Level Plans To Tackle El Nino Impact: IAS Officer Dasari Harichandana

Nalgonda: Labour, employment and training department secretary and special officer for the district, Dasari Harichandana, has directed officials of Nalgonda, Suryapet and Yadadri-Bhongir districts to prepare micro-level action plans to address potential drinking water, irrigation and electricity shortages due to the El Niño effect.

At a review meeting with officials at Udhyaditya Bhavan on the district collectorate premises in Nalgonda on Friday, she said drinking water must be the top priority. She directed officials to prepare plans to ensure adequate drinking water supplies to every village and household over the next four to five months.

Harichandana said the impact of El Nino was expected to peak by the end of December. Drought-like conditions had already prevailed in several areas across the three districts, affecting agriculture, groundwater levels, drinking water availability and the power sector.

She called for detailed village-level plans to manage groundwater resources and assess water availability in local reservoirs and irrigation tanks. Officials were also instructed to prioritise drinking water supplies in both urban and rural areas.

The designated mandal special officers were asked to hold weekly meetings with sarpanches and panchayat secretaries to review the impact of El Nino conditions. Harichandana directed them to prepare village-level action plans, which would form the basis for mandal- and district-level plans.

Later, she inspected withering paddy and cotton crops at Sherilingitam village in Kanagal mandal and advised farmers against taking up paddy cultivation during the yasangi season.

Nalgonda district collector B. Chandrasekhar, Suryapet district collector Tejas Nandlal Pawar, Yadadri-Bhongir district collector Anurag Jayanti and officials from various departments attended the meeting.