Uttam blames the previous government. irrigation failure, El Nino now due to ryots

HYDERABAD

A brief discussion on the effects of El Nino and remedial measures taken in the assembly on Friday focused more on irrigation, the Kaleshwaram project barrage and the Tummidihatti barrage.

Inaugurating the discussion, Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy assured farmers that the state government would stand by them even during the water crisis, saying El Nino had compounded the effects of the decade-long irrigation failure under the previous BRS government. Provision of drinking water, protection of standing crops and ensuring Telangana’s rightful share of river waters were the government’s priorities.

He argued that the crisis reflected both bad weather and a legacy of unfinished projects, faulty construction and poor water management by the previous dispensation. “Although we cannot prevent El Nino, the government is prepared in advance to reduce its impact,” he said.

The Department of Agriculture and Irrigation has been sensitizing farmers to warnings from international meteorological agencies by informing about the possibility of rainfall deficits, availability of irrigation and selection of suitable/alternative crops.

He explained that the southwest monsoon took nearly 15 days to cover all the 33 districts while the rainfall remained patchy and erratic. He noted that it would be irresponsible to promote cultivation without releasing sufficient water for irrigation and withdrawing it when crops reach a critical stage.

Highlighting the decline in usable reservoirs, the minister said Srisailam had only 61.65 tmc ft of water as on September 17 as against 153.56 tmc ft held last year. Similarly, usable water in Nagarjunasagar was only 44.89 tmc ft as against 174.25 tmc ft held last year.

In the Godavari Basin, usable storage in Singur was just 3.48 tmc ft as against 16.69 tmc ft available on the same day last year, while usable water in Lower Manair dam stood at 8.95 tmc ft as against 21.39 tmc ft on September 17 last year. The total usable water in reservoirs in both the basins was 241 tmc ft this year as against 585 tmc ft last year.

For water use by Krishna Telangana, Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy, it was the highest at 286.3 tmc ft in 2024-25 and for Godavari water it was 340.93 tmc ft in 2025-26. Of the state’s 44,034 reservoirs, about 40% of them were less than one-quarter full, and only 18% of the reservoirs have stocks between 75% and 100% of their capacity.

The minister blamed the previous government for the failure of the Kaleshwaram project dams and reducing them to unusability for water diversion. Proposals to rehabilitate the dikes are expected to be ready by mid-November, he said.

At Tummidihatti, he asked BJP leaders to pressurize the Center to go ahead with the proposal to fire with a full tank level of 152 meters by convincing the party governments (BJP) in Maharashtra and at the Centre. He claimed that the abandonment of Pranahita-Chevell was a historical mistake committed by the previous BRS government.

Published – 19 Sep 2026 0:04 IST