Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao on Wednesday blamed widespread crop damage across thousands of acres on “erratic power supply”, alleging that farmers were receiving only about five hours of electricity a day despite the State government’s claims of providing 12 to 15 hours.
Speaking to reporters at Nagarjunasagar after touring several villages and mandals in Nalgonda district, Mr. Rao said farmers dependent on borewells for irrigation were struggling to pump groundwater because of irregular power supply and frequent breakdowns. The situation, he said, had left farming families distressed as they grapple with crop losses, intense heat and mosquito infestations.
The BJP leader visited drought-hit areas, including Kanagal and Nalgonda Rural mandals and villages like Chinna Madaram, where agriculture in large parts of the ayacut depends entirely on borewell irrigation. He said crops had withered across thousands of acres due to inadequate water availability.
Mr. Rao accused the Congress government of pushing farmers into a crisis through what he described as “ill-conceived decisions, lack of foresight and negligence.” Despite warnings about possible rainfall deficits linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, the government had failed to take proactive measures to mitigate the impact, he alleged.
Instead of merely advising farmers against cultivating certain crops, the government should have used Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and the Agriculture Department machinery to create awareness about alternative crops, irrigated dry crops, vegetable cultivation and diversified farming practices, he said.
He urged the State government to seek assistance from the Centre, invite a Central team to assess crop losses and provide immediate compensation to affected farmers as it was prepared to extend all necessary support.
On the water crisis, Mr. Rao demanded that Telangana press for the immediate release of water from the upstream Almatti and Narayanpur reservoirs to avert drinking water shortages in towns and cities. He criticised both the previous BRS government and the present Congress administration over issues related to Krishna river water sharing.
The BJP leader charged that the present water shortage could have been mitigated if the proposals to construct storage reservoirs at Jurala was taken up as also desilting and repair works in projects such as Nettempadu, Dindi and Kalwakurthy in the Krishna basin.
Mr. Rao also rejected the government’s explanation that power shortages were caused by coal scarcity, claiming the real issue was poor coordination among power utilities and inadequate utilisation of hydel, solar and imported power resources.
Published – September 30, 2026 07:41 pm IST
