YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Anantapur district president and former MLA Anantha Venkatarami Reddy has alleged that the State government had failed to implement necessary alternate measures to mitigate the El Nino impact.
Speaking to the media here on Sunday, the senior leader claimed that, according to initial expectations, the impact of El Niño would subside by August. However, scientists state that the present phenomenon is a ‘Super El Niño’ and will persist throughout the year, he added. Mr.
Venkatarami Reddy said that Anantapur is the second district in the country with the lowest rainfall. “This region has previously suffered from severe droughts that left cattle emaciated, and the conditions appear to be heading in that direction again,” he claimed.
Mr. Venkatarami Reddy alleged that while Rayalaseema was facing a difficult situation, Telangana was diverting water. The senior leader claimed that currently 167 tmcft of water was available at the Srisailam reservoir, however, the authorities were failing to secure adequate water supplies for Rayalaseema region.
“In the undivided Anantapur district, the Ministers, MPs, and MLAs all belong to the ruling party, but no one is paying attention to the water crisis or the state of the crops,” he said. “If the current situation at Srisailam persists, the reservoir will run dry in another 10 days,” he said, and added that the public representatives from undivided Anantapur district must respond and meet the Chief Minister and demand release of more water for Rayalaseema.
