HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s claim that a foreign conspiracy was behind cloudbursts causing floods in various parts of the country has not only become the butt of ridicule among intellectuals and in political circles but also caused concern among climate change experts, who have started bursting the TRS chief’s bubble on the issue.
According to Dr N Sai Bhaskar Reddy, an international climate change expert, flooding in the Godavari river belt points to lacunae in the planning and execution of irrigation projects. “As the groundwater has already got saturated during the week-long rains, water had nowhere else to go after the subsequent heavy downpour and that caused the floods,” he says.
“The groundwater reached a saturation point due to major irrigation projects. The fast release of water through the floodgates at irrigation projects, population growth in the villages and its resultant occupation of river beds, lakes and streams, and more importantly deforestation have been causing floods more often,” he opines. He also observes that the lack of coordination between the upstream and downstream States and stingy behaviour of upstream states with respect to releasing water during water-scarce periods has also caused an imbalance.
“How much is the demand for water? When has the saturation of groundwater been achieved? When will such rains occur? Will the irrigation projects lead to the realisation of the aspirations of those concerned? All these questions have to be answered while planning for the irrigation systems, which is not being done,” he feels.
“Vector and water-borne diseases, viral fevers will increase. There will be the formation of alkaline soils affecting farming. Not only floods, but we are witnessing heat waves in places like Ramagundam. These will increase. The combination of relative humidity and rising temperatures will become the biggest threat. These are the multiplier-effects of climate change which pose a challenge to humanity,” he notes.
He suggests preparing climate change scenarios for Telangana by experts, as well as creation and dissemination of knowledge base on the issue.