Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 15 to seek financial assistance from the Centre for the state’s drought situation, deficient rainfall and the resulting impact on agriculture, farmers and rural livelihoods.
Reddy will be accompanied by irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy during the meeting. According to the report, the chief minister is expected to brief Modi on the challenges linked to the prevailing El Niño conditions and seek central support for drought-affected areas.
The Telangana government has declared 365 mandals across 31 districts as drought-hit after the state recorded a 17% deficit in rainfall. The declaration provides the administrative basis for seeking assistance and coordinating relief measures across areas affected by inadequate rainfall.
The state’s presentation to the Centre is expected to focus on financial assistance, coordinated intervention and measures to mitigate the hardships faced by farmers. The government has said that support is required to address the effects of climatic conditions, safeguard agricultural interests and strengthen relief measures for the farming community.
The rainfall deficit has affected agriculture and rural livelihoods, according to the report. The state government has also asked banks to reschedule agricultural loans in view of the drought situation. Loan rescheduling is intended to provide affected farmers with additional relief as the government seeks wider financial support from the Centre.
The meeting will place Telangana’s drought response within the framework of Centre-state coordination. The state government is seeking assistance to manage the immediate effects of deficient rainfall while addressing the wider pressure on agricultural activity and farming households across the declared drought-hit mandals.
The discussions are expected to cover the drought situation, financial support, farmer relief and interventions for affected areas. The proposed meeting with the prime minister is the next formal step in the state’s effort to secure central assistance and coordinate measures to respond to the rainfall deficit and its impact on Telangana’s agricultural economy.
