Amaravati, Aug 28 (IANS) The coalition government in Andhra Pradesh has completely failed to respond to the severe drought gripping Rayalaseema, leaving farmers without irrigation water, drinking water or fodder support, alleged the YSR Congress Party.
YSR Congress Party leader Anantha Venkatarami Reddy and former minister Sake Sailajanath said that kharif cultivation in the region had been restricted to just 39–40%, groundwater levels had fallen by 12–20 metres, and milk production had declined by nearly 75% due to shortage of green fodder.
They were addressing the media at the YSRCP district office in Anantapur on Friday.
According to a party release, Ananta Venkatarami Reddy said the government had no contingency plan despite warnings over El Nino and rainfall deficit. He said Telangana had released nearly 53 TMC from Srisailam for power generation while Andhra Pradesh remained silent, even as Rayalaseema faced a growing water crisis.
He recalled that the YSRCP government paid around Rs 8,600 crore towards crop insurance premiums and Rs 11,000 crore as input subsidy, whereas farmers were now being forced to pay insurance premiums themselves even for crops drying up in drought conditions.
Sailajanath said electricity could be purchased, but lost water could not be recovered. With Srisailam storage declining to around 160 TMC, continued releases for power generation would leave Rayalaseema projects and Handri-Neeva without water, he warned.
He demanded immediate diversion of water from Srisailam to Telugu Ganga, Handri-Neeva, drinking-water systems and other Rayalaseema projects, including at least 30–40 TMC through Pothireddypadu.
The leaders demanded that the government restrain wasteful water releases for power generation, provide compensation to affected farmers and urgently address fodder and drinking-water shortages. They assured farmers that YSRCP would stand with them and warned that if the government failed to act, the party was prepared to intensify its agitation, including a protest at the Srisailam project.
–IANS
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