Nizamabad district authorities have decided to reserve available reservoir water for drinking purposes after storage in the Sriram Sagar Project fell to 35 TMC ft from 80 TMC ft during the corresponding period last year, amid concerns over drought conditions linked to El Nino. Officials are also encouraging farmers to shift to less water-intensive crops and have been directed to complete two delayed railway overbridges within four to five months.
Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind called for water conservation by residents and farmers while addressing a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee at the Integrated District Offices Complex. The meeting reviewed welfare and development programmes being implemented with Central government funds.
Collector Ila Tripathi said the district administration had prepared an alternative action plan to manage the likely impact of El Nino. She said irrigation water would not be available for yasangi crops and that the government had decided to reserve the water currently available in reservoirs exclusively for drinking purposes.
The district administration has declared normal drought conditions in all 18 mandals of Nizamabad. Tripathi said rainfall was unlikely until June or July next year under the conditions being anticipated by the administration. Farmers are being encouraged through Rythu Vedikas to cultivate crops such as jowar and pulses instead of paddy, which requires more water. Subsidised seeds are also being distributed, with Nizamabad recording the highest distribution in Telangana, according to the collector.
The water decision places drinking-water security ahead of the next irrigation cycle as the district manages reduced storage in the Sriram Sagar Project. The source report does not specify the volume reserved for drinking water, the number of villages or urban households covered by the plan, or any rationing schedule.
At the same meeting, Arvind expressed displeasure over delays in the construction of the Madhavanagar and Arsapally railway overbridges. He directed Roads and Buildings and Railway officials to maintain uninterrupted progress and make both structures available to the public within the next four to five months. He also warned officials against extending the deadlines further.
The overbridges are being monitored alongside other district development programmes. The meeting was attended by Nizamabad Urban MLA Dhanpal Suryanarayana Gupta, Armoor MLA Paidi Rakesh Reddy, Mayor K. Uma Rani, National Turmeric Board chairman Palle Gangareddy and senior district officials.
Officials also informed the committee that pre-matric and post-matric scholarships sanctioned by the Centre for SC, ST and BC students had been credited directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts. Arvind welcomed Nizamabad’s selection as the venue for the national-level Khelo India Table Tennis Championships scheduled for December.
The immediate administrative milestones are the implementation of the drought action plan, continued distribution of subsidised alternative-crop seeds and completion of the Madhavanagar and Arsapally railway overbridges within the four-to-five-month timeline set at the meeting.
