HYDERABAD: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday directed officials to prepare contingency plans in the wake of forecasts indicating the possibility of El Nino influencing the current monsoon.
Stating that Telangana will not remain immune to El Nino impact, the minister directed the officials to ensure better coordination among the Irrigation, Agriculture and Meteorological departments to minimise risks to agriculture and to protect the livelihood of farmers.
During a review meeting, he said that the state government was continuously monitoring weather developments. He, however, added that there was no need for farmers to panic as comprehensive contingency measures were being put in place to respond swiftly to any emerging situation.
The minister directed the officials to prepare state- and district-level contingency plans, while taking rainfall projections, groundwater availability, reservoir storage, irrigation potential and local cropping patterns into account.
Uttam also held a video conference with district collectors and senior officials of the Irrigation, Agriculture and Horticulture departments and directed them to initiate district-specific preparedness measures and maintain constant coordination at the field level.
He also advised farmers not to depend exclusively on traditional water-intensive crops wherever water availability was uncertain.
He directed the officials to promote suitable alternative crops based on expected rainfall and available irrigation resources. Gram Sabhas, Rythu Vedikas and field-level extension programmes should be extensively utilised to create awareness among farmers about appropriate cropping choices and climate-resilient farming practices, he said.
IT Minister D Sridhar Babu, Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao and Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju virtually participated in the review meeting.