Telangana BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar has asked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to declare Husnabad, Koheda and Akkannapet mandals in Siddipet district as drought mandals, citing severe rainfall deficits and growing hardship for farmers and residents.
Prabhakar said in a letter to the Chief Minister that the three mandals, which fall within the Husnabad Assembly constituency, had not received adequate rainfall. He said the deficient rains were affecting agriculture and could lead to drinking-water problems in the coming days.
The request covers three of the seven mandals in the Husnabad constituency. According to the minister, only two mandals in the constituency have so far been declared drought mandals. He has sought the inclusion of Husnabad, Koheda and Akkannapet in the drought list because of the rainfall deficit in those areas, particularly the mandals located within Siddipet district limits.
Prabhakar attributed the prevailing conditions to the El Niño effect and said farmers and the public were facing severe difficulties because the rains had not arrived adequately. The report did not provide rainfall figures, crop-loss estimates or details of the criteria being applied to existing drought declarations.
The minister’s request also follows local demands from people in the affected mandals and villages. Prabhakar said residents had been passing unanimous resolutions seeking drought status for their mandals in response to the rainfall deficit and the resulting hardships.
A drought declaration can serve as the administrative basis for initiating relief measures, but the report does not state whether the Chief Minister has accepted the request or when a decision will be taken. It also does not specify the nature or scale of support sought for farmers and residents in the three mandals.
The potential drinking-water concern adds a public-utility dimension to the demand. While the immediate impact described in the report is on agriculture, a continued rainfall deficit could place additional pressure on local water availability, according to the minister. No assessment of current water stocks, drinking-water supply or village-level shortages was provided.
Prabhakar asked the Chief Minister to declare Husnabad, Koheda and Akkannapet drought mandals and initiate necessary relief measures for farmers and the public. The next step would be a decision by the state government on whether the three mandals meet the requirements for inclusion in the drought list.
