Seethakka announces water conservation, supply measures in Telangana amid El Niño

Hyderabad: Panchayat raj, rural development and rural water supply minister D Anasuya Seethakka on Wednesday said water conservation works, including percolation pits, recharge ponds, small catchments, check dams, restoration of village tanks and borewell recharge, would be undertaken under the VB G Ram G scheme. She called upon the sarpanches and villagers to increase participation in these works to improve water reserves before the onset of severe scarcity.

“The govt is taking proactive measures to prevent water scarcity in the state in view of rising temperatures and declining rainfall due to the El Niño effect. The drinking water supply is being given top priority,” she said and urged the people to conserve water.

Stating that natural phenomena such as droughts and excessive rainfall could not be completely controlled, she termed it inappropriate to politicise natural disasters. She appealed for collective efforts to address the challenges posed by changing weather patterns and assured that the govt would continuously monitor drinking water supplies to prevent hardship to the public.

The minister said that under the leadership of chief minister A Revanth Reddy and deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, regular reviews have been conducted with officials over the past six months to implement water conservation measures and prevent drinking water shortages. During her visit to Ramappa lake and the defluoridation project in Venkatapuram mandal of Mulugu district, Seethakka said the lake currently had 29 feet of water.

She stated that the govt was exploring the possibility of pumping water from the Godavari river to improve water availability in the lake and surrounding areas. Officials have been instructed to release water within the next two days as part of efforts to increase storage levels.

She said water from the Ramappa source would be purified through the defluoridation project and supplied to Mulugu, Venkatapuram, Govindaraopet, Mallampalli and surrounding areas, as well as certain parts of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. Officials are monitoring water supply systems, village tanks and groundwater levels.

Seethakka said drinking water requirements must be prioritised alongside irrigation needs and appealed to people to avoid wastage. She added that alternative water sources were being explored in addition to proposed projects such as the Ramappa–Laknavaram canal.

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Key quotes

• “The govt is taking proactive measures to prevent water scarcity in the state in view of rising temperatures and declining rainfall due to the El Niño effect. The drinking water supply is being given top priority,”