Super El Nino Alert: Tummala Nageswara Rao Directs Officials to Reserve Reservoir Water for Drinking, Raise Farmer Awareness

District In-charge Minister and Minister for Marketing, Agriculture, Handlooms & Textiles, and Cooperation Tummala Nageswara Rao has directed officials to prepare for the possible impact of Super El Nino by reserving reservoir water for drinking purposes, creating awareness among farmers on alternative crops, and ensuring coordination among all government departments. The review meeting was held at the Integrated District Offices Complex (IDOC) with ministers, public representatives, and district officials to review preparedness for the expected weather conditions.

Super El Nino Review Held at IDOC

A review meeting on Super El Nino preparedness was conducted at the Integrated District Offices Complex (IDOC) with officials from various departments.

The meeting was attended by:

• District In-charge Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao
• Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar
• Government Whip and Vemulawada MLA Aadi Srinivas
• District Collector Garima Agrawal
• MLAs Kavvampalli Satyanarayana and Medipalli Satyam
• SP Mahesh B. Githe

During the meeting, officials presented a PowerPoint presentation (PPT) prepared by the district administration on measures to tackle the impact of Super El Nino.

The ministers also unveiled the District El Nino Plan and posters prepared under the Telangana Jalasiri programme.

Minister Reviews Reservoirs, Crops, Drinking Water and Power Supply

Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao sought details from officials on:

• Number of reservoirs in the district
• Water levels in the reservoirs
• Acreage under different crops
• Mission Bhagiratha drinking water supply
• Electricity supply
• Other related issues

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Reservoir Water Must Be Reserved for Drinking Needs

Addressing the meeting, Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said the impact of Super El Nino is expected to be higher in South India, with the possibility of below-normal rainfall.

He directed Mission Bhagiratha officials to prepare a plan to ensure that the water currently available in reservoirs is used only for drinking purposes until July next year.

The minister said the rainfall received over the last two days would provide some benefit to crops but would not be sufficient until the crops are fully harvested.

Farmers Must Be Guided on Alternative Crops

The minister said inadequate rainfall over the past two months has significantly reduced crop cultivation.

He instructed officials to create awareness among farmers on crops suitable for cultivation next month. Farmers should be encouraged to grow:

• Rainfed crops
• Short-duration crops
• Pulses
• Oil Palm

He directed officials to ensure the availability of all required seeds.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Departments were instructed to implement a proper action plan, while field-level officials were asked to stay accessible to farmers.

Construct Soak Pits and Recharge Borewells

Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said groundwater levels have fallen by more than two metres compared to last year.

He stated that water from all district reservoirs cannot be released for irrigation and instructed officials to regularly inform the public and farmers about groundwater conditions.

The minister directed officials to ensure the construction of soak pits at every house in every Gram Panchayat and Municipality in the district.

He also instructed officials to speed up:

• Borewell recharge works under Telangana Jalasiri
• Farm pond construction works
• Construction of soak pits in every government office and school campus

Drinking Water Plan and Nano Urea Awareness

The minister directed officials to prepare a comprehensive Mission Bhagiratha drinking water supply plan and complete all arrangements for distributing reservoir water.

He instructed officials to keep additional motors ready for pumping operations.

He also directed officials to create awareness among farmers about Nano Urea, ensure farmers do not face any difficulties, and prevent the spread of false propaganda regarding fertilizer shortages or other issues in the district.

Police officials were instructed to maintain law and order while monitoring every issue closely.

The minister said all departments should work together under the district administration to overcome the impact of Super El Nino and complete all precautionary arrangements in advance.

Collector Garima Agrawal Shares District Preparedness

District Collector Garima Agrawal said awareness programmes on El Nino and crop diversification are being conducted for farmers across the district.

She said the district administration is implementing the state government’s directions and the instructions of the district in-charge minister.

The Collector said the Sri Raja Rajeshwara (Mid Manaeru) Reservoir is crucial for the district’s drinking water supply.

She shared the following figures:

• 1.85 lakh acres of various crops were cultivated in the district last year.
• 78,000 acres have been cultivated so far this year.
• Information on alternative crops is being sent to all farmers receiving Rythu Bharosa through mobile phones.
• Awareness programmes on crops suitable for August cultivation have already begun, and more farmer meetings will be conducted.
• The district has a target of 1,500 acres under Oil Palm cultivation.
• 400 acres have been completed so far, while the remaining area is under progress.
• Water conservation works under Telangana Jalasiri are being implemented effectively across the district.

Officials Present

The meeting was also attended by:

• Additional Collector Gaddam Nagesh
• DRO Jayashree
• Vemulawada RDO K. S. B. Kumari
• DRDO Lakshminarayana
• CPO Srinivasachari
• Officials and staff from various government departments.

During the Super El Nino preparedness review at the IDOC, District In-charge Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao directed officials to reserve reservoir water for drinking purposes until July next year, create awareness among farmers on alternative crops, strengthen Mission Bhagiratha planning, accelerate Telangana Jalasiri works, and ensure all departments coordinate to minimise the impact of the expected weather conditions. District officials said awareness programmes and water conservation measures are already underway.