K Chandrashekar Hyderabad

BRS Legislature Party Deputy Leader T Harish Rao alleged on Thursday that the prevailing agricultural drought across Telangana was not a natural phenomenon, but a man-made crisis caused directly by the administrative failure of the Congress government. Inspecting withered paddy fields in Burugupally village of Gajwel mandal in Siddipet district, Harish Rao interacted with distressed farmers whose standing crops dried up due to acute water and electricity shortages just prior to harvesting.

Harish Rao stated that nearly 12 lakh acres of crops withered during the monsoon season because the state government failed to take advance precautions. He criticized Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for remaining inactive despite agricultural scientists issuing clear El Nino warnings ten months ago. Comparing Telangana to neighboring states, Harish Rao highlighted that Maharashtra provided Rs 5,000 per acre assistance and Andhra Pradesh declared drought mandals, whereas Telangana provided no relief measures. He alleged that other states secured power purchase agreements and coal stocks in advance, while the Telangana administration failed to conduct timely reviews or coordinate with Coal India Limited, leaving farmers stranded at electrical substations.

Furthermore, the BRS leader pointed out severe losses among cotton farmers in Adilabad, Nalgonda, Medak, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, and Khammam districts, where expected yields dropped from ten quintals per acre to under two quintals. Dismissing government threats to suspend lower-level officials over power supply failures, Harish Rao asserted that accountability lay with the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister holding the energy portfolio. He noted that had the fifth unit at Yadadri Thermal Power Plant been synchronized earlier rather than recently, standing agricultural crops across Telangana could have been saved from complete destruction.