Amid El Niño and Prolonged Drought Fears, Telangana Announces 4-Month Employment Program | Today’s news
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has announced a special scheme to provide daily employment to workers for four months amid El Niño weather conditions and fears of severe drought in the state.
“The drought that started in October will continue till July. Heat and water evaporation will increase, causing water problems. Drinking water will face more problems than irrigation water. The problem starts small and grows, creating a situation where people cannot go out of their homes,” Reddy said on Friday.
The level of water accumulation is a cause for concern
According to the Chief Minister, out of 30 million pumping sets in Telangana, 15 million have already gone dry. Water stocks in projects have fallen to less than 20 percent of their total capacity, with some projects reaching dead stock levels. The available water was not more than 200 TMC, he said.
New work schedule for daily wage workers
The CM has announced a new work scheme to be launched after the Sankranti festival to provide relief to the working poor, which will be implemented for a period of four months till May. The state government would supplement the funds received from the central government for the introduction of the special employment scheme, the chief minister said.
Emphasizing the need to ensure the supply of drinking water, the chief minister directed the cabinet sub-committee and officials at all levels to monitor the situation continuously. A toll-free number would be provided for grievance redressal.
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He directed members of the public to visit the villages and said a special application would be installed on their phones to monitor the initiative.
Focus on water conservation
The program would also focus on restoring access roads to agricultural fields, canals, ponds and small bodies of water. Cultural groups or ‘Kalajathas’ would be organized to motivate farmers, while a help desk would be set up at Gandhi Bhavan under the leadership of MP Chamal Kiran.
Reddy said the government has a responsibility to reveal the ground reality and ensure that no one suffers during the crisis. “Leaders should educate farmers about drought through Rythu Vedikas across the state. Special centers would be set up in villages to provide fodder and drinking water for cattle and additional working days would be created under the employment guarantee scheme.”
The chief minister said the government had formed a cabinet sub-committee headed by deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka and appointed K Ramakrishna Rao as special officer to deal with El Niño and counter disinformation.
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He said the government has managed Kharif crop season without irrigation crisis and will ensure protection and purchase of Kharif crops. Revanth Reddy also defended the bonus announced for seven types of fine paddy and said farmers were getting prices ranging from ₹3,400 up to ₹4,000 as traders from other states offered advances and bought their products, the report said.
Use electricity only for essential needs
The Chief Minister said that the intense shortage of heat and water has led to a sharp rise in electricity consumption. He said electricity demand reached 20,000 megawatts compared to 13,000 MW during the corresponding season in undivided Andhra Pradesh, adding that the power department had successfully made 20,000 MW available.
The government was ready to buy electricity at any price, but it was unavailable in the market, CM Reddy said, urging people to use electricity only for basic needs. Emphasizing the need for more solar power generation, he said villagers in Kongareddypalli have benefited from the sale of solar electricity. He also called for women’s self-help groups to be involved in the initiative.
