Declare Telangana a drought-hit state; release relief funds: Kunamneni

Khammam: CPI state secretary and Kothagudem MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao on Tuesday demanded that the government declare the state drought-hit and immediately release funds to undertake relief measures for affected farmers and rural communities.

He also urged the Centre to release Rs. 25,000 crore in drought relief funds and called upon the state government to allocate its own resources to take up drought mitigation works without waiting for central assistance.

A CPI delegation led by Kunamneni visited drought-affected areas in Konijerla mandal, including Tanikella and Konijerla villages, to assess the ground situation. The team inspected fallow agricultural lands, dried-up irrigation tanks and crop fields damaged by high temperatures. The leaders also examined declining groundwater levels and interacted with farmers to understand the impact of the prevailing drought conditions. Addressing a media conference at Tanikella, Kunamneni said deficient rainfall attributed to El Niño conditions had affected agricultural activities across the state. Several tanks and minor irrigation sources had not received adequate water, forcing farmers to reduce cultivation.

The CPI leader urged the State government to constitute special teams to inspect drought-affected villages and take immediate steps to provide compensation. He demanded rescheduling of agricultural loans and sought the waiver of loans of farmers who were left out of the existing Rs. 2 lakh farm loan waiver scheme.

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The Hans India