22 districts in Telangana report deficient rainfall; Tributaries of Krishna, Godavari run dry

Barring Pranahita, almost all of the 53 major and minor tributaries that drain the two major river basins have gone dry

Hyderabad: With 22 out of 33 districts reporting deficit rainfall in the State, not even a trickle has been added to a majority of the major and medium irrigation projects in both Krishna and Godavari basins so far in the current water year. Barring Pranahita, almost all of the 53 major and minor tributaries that drain the two major river basins have gone dry.

Added to this, scanty rainfall has cast its shadow on the Kharif (Vanakalam) prospects this year. As many as 22 of the 33 districts in the State registered deficit rainfall from June 1 to July 12. The worst hit districts due to shortfall are Khammam ( -50.7 %), Jagtial (-42.7 %), Warangal (-39.2) and Nizamabad (-38.4 %).

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With inflows that are zero into Jurala, Srisailam, Nizam Sagar and as low as 4,185 cusecs into Nagarjuna Sagar and 4981 cusecs into SRSP, uncertainty looms large over the fate of Vanakalam crops. It is more so in the 6.6 lakh acres of ayacut of the Nagarjuna Sagar left canal spread over Suryapet, Nalgonda and Khammam.

The inflows that have just started reaching Almatti dam in Krishna basin are being seen as a sign of hope. In the event of good rainfall at least by the first week of August, farmers can pin their hopes on late transplantation. The live storage in Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar project are 33.72 TMC and 147 TMC respectively. These were 44 TMC and 165 TMC respectively during the corresponding period last year. In case of a dry spell in the second half of July, the rain-fed crops are also likely to be affected.

Area sown so far in the state is 42,76,263 acres as against the season’s normal of 1,24,28,723 acres. The officials said that sowings covered about 35 per cent of the season’s normal so far. An extent of 31,88,200 acres, which is 63 per cent of the season’s normal, was covered under cotton. The area covered so far under paddy was less than 6 percent. As against the normal area of 49,86,634 acres, some 3 lakh acres were covered by the crop so far. In many districts, farmers are raising seeds beds in anticipation of water release from the reservoirs.

More details

• Deficient rainfall recorded in 22 districts, normal in 11
• Zero to poor inflows into Jurala, Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar
• 52 major, minor tributaries of Krishna and Godavari dry
• Irrigation schedule awaited in 6.6 lakh acre ayacut of NSP
• Area covered under paddy is less than 6 percent of normal