There was a time before the formation of Telangana when droughts were a recurring phenomenon in the region. This year, half the state is again facing a drought after almost a decade because of the impact of the super El Niño. The situation is serious enough for Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to warn the people of a crisis of historical magnitude. A growing power shortage is making the situation far worse than anticipated.
It’s a pity that the government waited till a 17 percent rainfall deficit was noted before triggering the alarm. To get a measure of the current anguish, consider that half of the state’s agricultural borewells have dried up, reservoirs are at about 31 percent total capacity and drinking water for Hyderabad is in jeopardy, with the Singur and Manjeera reservoirs expected to provide only till the first fortnight of December. The government hopes to salvage the situation by drawing from the Godavari and Krishna through fresh pipelines. It has mandated that only treated waste-water be used for non-drinking purposes including data centres. Things have come to such a pass that India’s second-largest rice-producing state has appealed to farmers to hold back on sowing the water-guzzling crop as the situation is expected to be troublesome till next July.
Compounding such problems is an alarming power shortage. The state recorded an all-time peak demand of about 20,000 MW around mid-October due to increased domestic, agricultural and industrial consumption. At the same time, hydroelectric power generation has plummeted due to lower rainfall.
The government has held an all-party meeting and is planning on leading a delegation to the Centre with a long list of demands, including a relief package of ₹20,000 crore, immediate release of resources from the National Disaster Response Fund, relaxation of the state’s borrowing limit, and a 1,500-MW allocation of power.
Given the acute distress, this is no time for politics. Yet, the BRS has dubbed it a ‘Congress-made drought’ for not using parts of the damaged Kaleshwaram irrigation project. It is a Catch-22 situation for the government as the National Dam Safety Authority has forbidden use of the damaged barrages. The need of the hour is cooperation from all stakeholders including the Centre. Both governments ought to take a long-term view and make sure that the water-related projects are running on course.
