TELANGANA: A TALE OF UNMITIGATED MISERY :
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The spectre of drought is a constant feature in Telangana especially. since no attempts have been made to fight it on a long term basis with the implementation of permanent anti-drought measures. The problem is made worse as irrigation is underdeveloped, there has been no industrialization nor has any skill development taken place in the region. The result is that a majority of the people, the poor and the landless are at the mercy of nature. Only a copious monsoon can assure them of at least three months of wages. Or else, they leave their hearths and homes and migrate to distant cities in search of livelihood. Figures vary on the number of people migrating from the drought prone districts of Telangana: the more severe the problem the greater is the exodus from almost all areas of the state to the nearest urban conglomeration: from the North Telangana to Maharashtra from South to Hyderabad, and from West to Karnataka. According to estimates, during any year, the poorest and the driest district of Mahabubnagar sees the exodus of five lakh labourers, well-known throughout India for their hard work. Better known as "Palamur labour”, they have worked in every major project construction in India and yet they have remained half-fed, half-clothed, forced to live the life of nomads, going back to their native village not only to return to the old people they had left behind but to their soil to which they belong; A soil that remains dry most of the year, which does not provide them sustenance and yet to which they return year after year, season after agricultural season, with hope. According to estimates, as many as 12 lakh people have migrated out of Mahabubnagar in 1997 as monsoon failed. Though the Indian
Meteorological Department predicted an optimistic monsoon this
year
for the country, as far as Andhra Pradesh is concerned, the conditions are
precarious. The
onset of monsoon itself was delayed and even after onset, there were no
widespread rains and drought conditions prevailed till the end of June.
Only during the first week of July, there were rains, although the quantum
received was low. Again, drought conditions prevailed during second and
third weeks of July, rendering most of the rain fed crops unsown. There
were long dry spells ranging from 15 to 18 days in almost all the
agro-climatic zones of the State, which stunt crop and drastically reduce
its growth. The South-West monsoon
normally sets in the first week of June in the State. But the monsoon in
1997 set in on June 12 and it was well below normal. The most affected
region was Telangana with 45 per cent rainfall deficiency while overall
deficiency for the State worked out to 38 per cent. The deficit in Coastal
Andhra was 34 percent and in Rayalaseema 36 per
cent. The region-wise assessment
of rainfall shows that North Telangana received 290 mm rainfall as against
a normal of 472 mm as on August 6, 1997, a deficit of 39 percent. South
Telangana was the most affected receiving only 201.5 mm rainfall as
against a normal of 350 mm, which was a deficit of 42 per cent. The
deficit in North Coastal Andhra was 32 per cent, in South Coastal 37
percent, and in Rayalaseema 36 per
cent. Up to August 27, the State
as a whole received 275 mm of rainfall against 441 mm of normal, a deficit
of 38 per cent of normal. The districts of North Telangana received a
deficit of 44 per cent. This region received 356 mm rainfall as against
normal of 641 mm. South Telangana received 247 mm as against the normal of
459 mm with a deficit of 46 per cent. The region-wise split-up reveals
that north coastal Andhra received 381 mm as against 488 mm of normal, a
deficit of22 per cent. Similarly, South Coastal Andhra also received a
rainfall of 190 mm as against the normal of 318 mm the deficit being 40
per cent (Table I). Rayalaseema region which receives a normal rainfall of
233 mm has received only 160 mm recording a deficit of 31 per cent.
Revival of the south west monsoon rains in mid-September did not do
much to undo the damage since the crop was a total failure and could not
be retrieved. To some extent the late rains filled up the water sources
and recharged the groundwater but that was not
enough. The rain deficit in
comparison to the normal annual rainfall showed that Telangana's deficit
was the highest with 45 per cent. The rain deficit in coastal Andhra
districts was 30 per cent and in Rayalaseema 31 per cent, according to
official estimates put out by the office of the Relief Commissioner. The
rainfall deficit district-wise showed the deficit in Telangana districts
ranged from 31 per cent in Khammam to 58 per cent in Mahabubnagar which
was the worst affected (Table 2). While the Union Agriculture Minister Chaturanan Mishra was taken on a whirlwind tour of the drought-affected areas in Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Rangareddy districts in the first week of September, the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu assured the people that there won't be any problems in the Krishna and Godavari delta regions but the upland areas would need attention. He did not utter a Word on the trauma being undergone by the people in Telangana. He undertook an aerial tour of Karimmigar in the second week of September and said that the state was in the grip of "severe drought". It was not until September 13 when he announced that 755 mandals out of 1,110 mandals in the state that Naidu spoke of the drought situation in Telangana. An analysis of the
government's figures on the number of mandals affected by drought as
determined by the new norms laid down by the revised drought manual shows
that 84.5 per cent of mandals in Rayalaseema were drought-hit; 76 per cent
in Telangana and 59 per cent in coastal Andhra (Srikakulam district not
included as the statistics were not available) (Table 3 and
4). The government admitted that
about 250 mandals were reeling under severe drought conditions with a
majority of them being in Telangana but the government did not
declare the areas drought-hit which would automatically devolve several
benefit to the affected people in terms of employment, subsidized food
grains and odder, postponement of loan and tax
collections. According to official
figures, about 755 mandals out of 1110 in the state faced severe drought
conditions. Six out of23 districts have received less than 50 per cent of
the normal rainfall. In others, rainfall varies between 40-60 per cent but
in view of the late onset of monsoon this year, the damage to crops even
in districts which received normal rainfall is expected to be considerable
in view of long spells of dry weather after the start of agricultural
operations in the wake of monsoon
rains. Initial reports of the
situation in the entire state said that against 8.16 lakh hectares of area
under paddy during the previous kharif season, only 6.20 lakh hectares
could be brought under the crop in 1997 kharif.
In most of the areas, transplantations were
delayed. Under dry crops, only 28.85 lakh hectares were sown this season,
as against 47.34 lakh hectares during the previous season. According to
Official statistics, agricultural production in the state is likely to
come down by 25 per cent on account of adverse seasonal conditions. Paddy
transplantation was completed only in 9.30 lakh hectares of land as
against 28 lakh hectares. The average was 36 per cent of the normal area
for paddy, 65 per cent for pulses, 50 per cent for dry crops and 36 per
cent for oilseeds. Groundnut crop was taken up in 6.53 lakh hectares as
against the normal area of 11.88 lakh
hectares. According to statistics, the total dry crops coverage in the State stood at 21 lakh hectares as against a normal area of 53 lakh hectares. The corresponding figure of dry crops for 1996 was 37 lakh hectares, which means that an extent 16 lakh hectares was not covered. Most of the dry crops are grown in Telangana Minor irrigation sources such as tanks and wells have dried up due to scanty rainfall and there has been no transplantation of paddy in areas irrigated by minor irrigation sources that which are mostly in Telangana. While there is quibbling
among officials as to when a drought should be declared and what criteria
to follow, the most reliable indicators are the pee themselves. Among the
people-oriented indicators of drought are: mass migra1 of people,
widespread distress sale of cattle, and increased dacoities which
attributed to near-famine conditions prevailing leading to unemployment
and he the people driven to desperation. Even under normal conditions at
least five I agricultural laborers migrate to other areas from the
drought-prone Mahabubnagar
district which is-the poorest and most backward, during the
off-season in search of work.
In 1997 it is estimated that 12 lakh persons have
migrated. For a more deeper
perspective and the extent of the suffering of the people is necessary to
study district-wise the overall picture of the
drought. MahabubnagarMahabubnagar district
received only 220 mm rainfall against the normal 432mm up to August
end. Almost all crops withered away with 654 irrigation sour received no
water. An estimated 5000 bore wells and about 80,000 irrigation WI dried
up. Due to shortage of fodder thousands of cattle were sent off to
slaughter houses. In certain areas drinking water was available once in
five days and Jadcherla town it was supplied once in 10 days. "Drought
pensions" were sanctioned to 10,000 persons by the government in the
district while scores of villages turned into ghost habitations with all
able bodied persons migrating to distant cities with their young ones
leaving behind the old who could not
travel. Mahabubnagar district bore
the brunt of drought this year, with agricult1 alone reporting crop loss
of Rs 400 crores. The district Collector sent several reports on the
alarming situation in the district. Against 9.15 lakh hectares of la taken
up for cultivation during kharif season, only 4.45 lakh hectares were
taken up this year. Out of the cultivated area of 4.45 hectares, crops in
3.75 hectares were damaged due to scanty rainfall. Normally paddy is
cultivated in 1.24 lakh hectares in the district, but this time it was
cultivated only 38,304hectares,out of which the crop in 26,m hectares got
damaged. As against normal area 2.71 hectares, jowar was sown in 1.37
hectares out of which the .crop in 1.27 lakh hectares got damaged.
Similarly, castor was grown in 47,087 hectares as against the normal area
of 1.37 lakh hectares and the crop in, 38.247 hectares was damaged due to
continuing dry spell. Cotton is normally grown in 79,928 hectare, but this
time it was sown in only 49,977
hectares. Not
many efforts were made to change the situation of almost continuous
drought in Mahabubnagar district. This district receives one of the
scantiest rainfall and yet whenever drought situation has arisen some
temporary measures are adopted but no long-term programmes implemented to
reverse the drought conditions nor efforts were made to mitigate them
through the well-known measures such as watershed development, and
harnessing rain water run-off. According to a study,
the district uses only five per cent of the rain water for irrigation and
drinking purposes while the rest flows unutilized into Krishna and
Tungabhadra rivers. Sheer neglect
has marked the planning by irrigation department. Several major
and medium irrigation projects planned for mitigating
the drought conditions have remained on paper. For instance, the
Priyadarshini Jurala project, Bhima first and second phases, Nettempadu,
Koilsagar, Peddamarur and Kalwakurthy lift irrigation schemes which were
expected to irrigate 4.5 lakh hectares apart from providing protected
water supply to hundreds of habitations have not been taken up. Successive
governments have shown little concern or sympathy with the people of
Mahabubnagar. MedakFodder scarcity has become a major problem in
Medak as inadequate rains have prevented farmers from growing fodder
and barren grasslands have affected cattle and she<,p in this
district with one of the highest cattle population. Warangal According to experts, drought conditions
have been spreading to several non drought areas in Warangal.
Failure of rains for the past six years in parts of Warangal has
forced fanners to leave their land fallow which is increasing
monsoon after failed monsoon. All the 50 mandals in the district
were severely affected. The water level in minor irrigation sources
like Parkal and Ramappa lakes and Salivagu project is much below the
normal with Lakkavaram Lake and Malluruvagu project recording zero
level till July 15. Lakkavaram and Parkal lakes have almost dried up
with little in flows into them. It is feared that the groundwater
resources would be threatened if such dry conditions continue. In
agriculture, paddy transplantation was possble in only 15,000
ha as against the normal area of 1.03 lakh ha. Jowar, greengram,
groundnut and cotton crops in thousands of hectares of land were
affected by the drought. The Warangal Collector reported that all
the 51 mandals in the district were drought-hit. About 46 per cent
of shortfall in rain during the South West monsoon had left 56 per
cent of the normal sown area to be left fallow causing a crop loss
of Rs 276.95 crores. In real terms, two lakh hectares were left
fallow out of the normal 3.53 lakh hectares sown. Out of 1.53 lakh
hectares sown in 1997 kharif lack of rains had damaged crops over
38,000 hectares. Special arrangement were made to transport fodder
from Palampet to Jangaon, the worst affected revenue division in the
district. NalgondaThe district faced this kind of drought for the
first time in 12 years. The most affected district after
Mahabubnagar was Nalgonda. With the exception of only two mandals
out of 59 in the district all the mandals have been affected by
drought. Only five mandals received normal rainfall. More than half
of the villages faced severe shortage of drinking water. All tanks
dried up, and with the groundwater level receding, more than half of
bore wells too dried up. Crops were raised in only half of the total
cultivable area and there was acute scarcity of fodder. Milk
collection in the district fell by 15 lakh litres daily due to the
monsoon failure and fodder scarcity. Nalgonda threatened to turn into a desert as
land cracked for lack of rain, tanks and small irrigation sources
dried up, emaciated cattle were drive to Hyderabad's slaughter
houses and mass exodus of people began. Newspapers reported that in
Mallepally village in the drought-hit Deverakonda Assembly
constituency of the district, Mallaiah, a marginal farmer of
Peddadisarlapally village was taking home an emaciated cow along
with its calf which he bought for a throwaway price of Rs 1800. In
normal times this pair would have cost Rs 3600. Many farmers, unable
to grow fodder, sold away their bulls and buffaloes for a paltry Rs
1500 or Rs 2000. With even dry crops like bajra, jowar and groundnut
not sown, there was no possibility of farmers being left with fodder
for their cattle. Local farmers said most of the cattle were being
sold to contractors of various slaughter houses in the twin cities
of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Although this was a regular
phenomenon, the sale of cattle for slaughter was more pronounced due
to drought this year. The district's cattle population is 15 lakh
but the fodder stock was sufficient for only three lakh heads of
cattle. In 24 out
of the 59 mandals in the district, the rainfall was less than 60 per
cent in 30 mandals, it was 26 per cent to 30 per cent less in five
mandals and 5 per cent less in five mandals. There are 549 small
irrigation sources in the district, out of which only 124 tanks
received water for irrigation. In the rainfed areas, crops on 7.35
lakh acres are sown in normal years in the district, but only four
lakh acres were sown in 1997 due to inadequate rains. With fields
drying up in 21 out of 59 mandals there was a drastic fall in paddy
cultivation in 1997. Paddy was transplanted in 28,660 hectares of
land as against the normal cultivation of 1.39 lakh hectares. Only
19 per cent transplantation could be completed. In the rainfed area,
57 per cent transplantation was completed but with long spells of
drought the yield is expected to be low. The Nalgonda
district agricultural authorities have estimated that the loss of
crop production due to the drought is about 1.23 lakh tonnes valued
at Rs 7,333 lakh.
. Dry crops under rain-fed area were planted in
only 1.83 lakh hectares as. against the normal cultivation of 2.92
lakh hectares. NizamabadOut of 36 mandals in the district as many as 31
have been declared drought hit. Severe drought combined with
irregular and low quality power supply saw the farmers of this
district attack electricity sub stations and the staff. They were
frustrated that due to lack of power they were unable to use
whatever water there was in their borewells to save their crops.
There has been only 40 per cent of the normal rainfall in the
district resulting in the drying up of 1600-odd minor irrigation
tanks in the district. The medium irrigation projects like Ramadugu
and Pocharam were nearly dry. The command area crops have been
affected as the Nizamsagar dam level reached its lowest level in
several years. KarimnagarThis
district was the only "fortunate" one in Telangana which was visited by
the Chief Minister to study the drought situation in mid-September when
the drought was clear to everyone. For the first time since Sriramsagar
Dam was constructed in 1970 it dried up in August leaving no water even
for fish which died in hundreds and thousands. According to
government officials, fish worth Rs one lakh died for lack of water. The dam had dried up in
1987 but that was in summer. For the
first time it dried up during monsoon. The
State government took its own time to come out with a realistic plan of
action to tackle the serious drought situation and the drying up of the
Sriramsagar reservoir which threatened paddy crop over severallakh
hectares. Although the drought conditions were obvious in late July itself
as rains had totally failed, the government waited until September 13 to
declare formally the district as "drought hit." 25 out of 56 mandals were
declared as "drought-hit." Revenue
minister T Devender Goud has gone on record saying in August end that
274 mandals had been identified as having abysmally low rainfall, but he
did not dec1!'ire them as "drought-hit". Relief measures continued to
elude these regions reeling under drought. Once a district is declared
drought-affected, the government has to waive interest on all agriculture
loans and reschedule their recovery, give 25 per cent subsidy on seeds and
fertilizers and take up on war-footing relief measures such as digging of
bore wells, provision of drinking water and supply of fodder for the
cattle. As many as 37
out of 46 revenue mandals experienced drought in Khammam while
major and minor irrigation tanks got minimal inflows. The crop area fell
by about 50 per cent in as many as nine of the 46 mandals in the district
where the scarcity conditions are acute. The agriculture under the minor
irrigation sources, which could not receive sufficient water so far this
year, has been affected. About 40,000 hectares of agriculture land lay
barren in the absence of sufficient rains. Minor and lift irrigation
schemes irrigate an ayacut of about two lakh hectare in the district.
There are 382 such schemes, which come under the minor irrigation
department. Besides, 300 small tanks irrigate a considerable area. Tanks
irrigation an area of 70,000 hectares, canals 65,000 hectares, bore wells
5000 hectares and lift irrigation schemes irrigate 3000 hectares. As many
as 43 of the total 46 mandals received low rainfall, of which 29 mandals
registered less than 50 per cent of the normal rainfall. Ten mandals got
rainfall ranging from 30 per cent to 50 per cent and two mandals as low as
20 per cent to 30 per cent during the current Kharif season. Wazed,
Venkatapuram, Charla, Dummugudem, Aswaraopet, Vemsoor, Kallur, Mudigonaa
Pinapaka, Manugur, Kunavaram and Konijerla are the worst affected
mandals. Relief Programmes DelayedAlthough agricultural operations did not begin and
migration had started in full earnest by August end, the government failed
to instruct the districts to launch drought relief measures. Official
figures of rainfall told the tragic tale: 30 per cent deficit in rainfall
all over the state (as on August 31); the situation was worse in Telangana,
with 45 per cent deficit in rainfall until then. The Agriculture
Department had submitted a detailed report on the agricultural situation
but no action was taken as the Chief Minister was busy with other things.
Similarly, the Revenue Department did not react to reports from the
various drought-affected districts with the result that no planned,
coordinated, substantial drought relief measures were undertaken till the
middle of September. By then a large number of cattle were led to
slaughterhouses and villages emptied of peop1e as they migrated to urban
areas looking for a livelihood. A major problem in Telangana during
drought is the scarcity of fodder. Several districts have a huge cattle
population which is difficult to sustain in such times. Till August end
the government had released only Rs 34.40 lakh to supply the fodder as
against the Animal Husbandry department recomm_ndation for the release of
Rs 5.37 crore for one month which itself is an underestimated figure. At
this rate each drought hit mandal would get barely a lorry load of fodder
a day. As a result of
the failure of the monsoon in Telangana, a very small fraction of land
sown during normal monsoons could be cultivated. Out of a normal sowr area
of 26 lakh acres under dry crop in the region, only 5.3 lakh acres were
sown; 'and as against 3.5 lakh acres under agricultural pump sets, a mere
58,000 acres were brough_ uhder (tultivation. That is, about 80 per cent
of the normal sown area under dry crpps and 85 per cent of area under pump
sets could not be cultivated in Telangana. Inflow
into the Sriramsagar (SRSP) Project across the Godavari river were the
lowest in its history (Table 5). In the absence of water releases into
SRSP canals, paddy crop in seven lakh acres in four districts, including
five lakh acres in Karimnagar district alone, was endangered. The
catchment areas of Godavari were receiving rain but the water was being
impounded by the Jaikwadi dam, upstream of SRSP. While the state
government made a big row about the construction of Almatti dam in
Karnataka and every now and then makes issue over low levels ofwater
released from Tungabhadra and other project ,upstream on Krishna river in
Kamataka, it has not raised the Jaikwadi issue with the government of
Maharashtra It could not persuade Maharashtra to release 20 tmc ft of
water from Jaikwadi project on upstream Godavari into SRSP which could
have saved the crops. Acconding to estimates, farmers had invested at
least Rs 2000 an acre for preparing the fields and for transplanting
paddy. The estimated loss of paddy crop, at the rate of 20 quintals an
acre, would be nearly Rs 500 crores. The
Major Irrigation Minister explained that Maharashtra had not agreed to the
proposal since Maharashtra too was facing acute water shortage due to
failure of rains. There was only 35 tmc water in the project as against
its full capacity of 120 tmc. He said even if the Maharashtra counterpart
released 10 tmc water, it would take more than 20 days to traverse 320 km
to reach the Sriramsagar project in Andhra Pradesh. Besides evaporation
and transmission losses, more than three tmc water wquld get stagnated at
the barrages en route. The government explored no alternative(s; if a
similar situation arose in either Coastal Andhra or Rayalaseema, it would
have been under great pressure to act, to pay compensation and reduce
distress of the people. Drought Manual Revised
The
Anjdhra Pradesh Government has replaced the old Drought Manual of 1981,
which, was based on the outdated Famine Code of 1950, with a new one
prepared by fl, committee headed by Mr. A V S Reddy, a senior IAS officer.
The new manual based on the principle of relativity and therefore,
is fair, scientific and
objective. It has removed all the discretionary powers of the District
Collectors in assessing the drought situation and instead made certain
physical parameters, such as rainfall, mandatory for declaring ail area as
drought-hit. The new manual says, deficit rainfall in any two of the three other conditions sown area to be less than 50 per cent, crop yield less than 40 per cent, and continued dry spell-were compulsory for declaring a mandai drought-hit which would pave the way for state intervention to save the situation by automatically postponing collection of arrears of land revenue, loans, drainage cess, special land tax, rescheduling of agricultural loans and granting of fresh crop loans. While the
old manual merely stated "significant deficiency in normal rainfall as the
criterion, the new one scientifically categories the mandals into three,
categories; those receiving an annual rainfall of less than 750 mm, those
received 750 mm to 1000
mm, and those with more than 1000 mm rainfall. The
manual stipulates that the 15 per cent deficiency will
suffice to declare the first category mandal as drought-hit, because “a
little deficiency in them will have more, pronounced effect”. For the
second category the deficit recommended is 20 per cent, and the third 25
per cent. Without assigning relative significance of the rainfall received
in different areas depending on the type of soils, the old manual
described “rainy day" as one giving 2.5 mm of rainfall. The new
manual, on the other hand, fixed 2.5 mm for black cotton soils as these
types of land have more retentivity-absorbing capacity and 5 mm for red
soils which allow run-off instead of absorbing. If any mandal receives
lees than the specified quantum during the season, the day will be treated
as forming part of dry spell. For
declaring a mandal as drought-hit, compression in cropped area by 50 per
cent and above for all principal crops including paddy is being observed
as the norm.
The area is to be declared "affected" if it reports reduction in crop
yields of 50 per cent and above in respect of major crops, and 40 per cent
for high input oriented crops, groundnut, Bengal gram, hybrid
sunflower. The A V
S Reddy Committee stipulates that the government should use any part of
the Calamity Relief Fund for permanent works as this particular fund was
constituted to deal with emergency and extraordinary situations. It also
permits flow from the fund to the dove-tailed programme. It also
stipulates that one-third of a landholding should be earmarked for growing
fodder and for this legislation should be enacted. The committee also
recommends use of techniques available with the National Remote Sensing
Agency and the Andhra Pradesh satellite research application center. Their
"vegetative index" can be guidance to an impending drought. It is
estimated that the season of monsoon activity in the state will have 50 to
75 days. The state is served by both the south-west monsoon active during
June to September, and the north-east monsoon active in October-December.
The state receives an average rainfall 600 mm during the south-west
monsoon, and 200 mm out of the north-east monsoon. In 1997 while the state was to receive 441 mm of normal rainfall by August end, it could get only 275 mm. Kharif operations have been limited to 50.34 lakh hectares compared to the normal area of 81.67 lakh hectares. The situation in Mahabubnagar and Prakasam districts was alarming with migration of agriculture labour, lack of fodder resulting in the distress sale of cattle and general fall in the purchasing power of the people. Conclusion If we were to consider the governmental concern, generosity and the protness that attends on any calamity in a region other than in Telangana, the case of Telangana would be obvious. For instance, in the summer of 1997 widespread shortage 01 power and low voltage in Telangana burnt out hundreds motors of agricultural pump sets and crops withered away. Unable to bear the losses caused by crops least a couple of farmers committed suicide. Farmers became violent, attacked AP State Electricity Board staff, and even raided neighboring villages to get their share of power. All that the government did in the face of this tragedy was to say that the farmers were being instigated by naxalites. And yet when farmers in East Godavari protesting against increased water and power tariffs were caned by the police and one died, there was such a political uproar that not only the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu apologized for the police action but gave a huge compensation to the farmers who suffered at the hands of the police. Similarly, in the name of mitigating cyclones and the
havoc wreaked by them, hundreds of crores of rupees have been spent in the
coastal areas; international funding agencies help was taken, the Central
government funds used and voluntary agencies encouraged to work in
the area. While admittedly severe cyclone devastates huge pockets, the
damage wreaked by drought, the suffering caused to the people the
dislocation suffered by them, and the setback they face is no less than
the victims of cyclones. The tragedy of the drought victims is even more
horrifying because they are the poorest of the poor; the nature's vagary
makes them poorer. Yet neither the government, nor any NGO, nor the
generosity of an international donor has reached them with help other than
token help. In fact, an allegation that has gained widespread currency and
credibility, given the history of in jus tic I meted out to Telangana, is
that the government has held back drought relief programmes for mitigating
the people's suffering because it wanted to conserve the funds under
the centrally-funded Calamity Relief fund to meet emergency needs
should a cyclone hit the coastal areas during the north-east monsoon from
October to December. It is high time that the government gave serious thought to fight the drought conditions in Telangana. Long-term measures need to be taken to create irrigation potential, improve the region's ecology, and harness the scanty rainfall. The drought of Telangana is as much a handiwork of nature as of the government’s callous. neglect for over four decades. Nature has been generous to Telangana, endowing it with two major rivers, many lakes and rich groundwater resources. Not so the succession of governments headed by politicians from coastal Andhra, and run by bureaucrats from coastal Andhra. For them, Telangana has become a colony - to be used, exploited, and kept under-developed to serve their needs. |
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