Overview
- Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy warned on Friday that El Niño-linked drought conditions could persist for eight to ten months and ordered an emergency response across the state.
- Officials report reservoir storage under 20 percent with available water around 200 TMC and about 15 lakh of 30 lakh agricultural pump sets already dry, raising acute risks to drinking supplies and irrigation.
- The government announced a special four-month employment scheme to begin after Sankranti and run through May to provide daily work for affected labourers and to fund restoration of canals, ponds, access paths and small water bodies.
- Telangana formed a Cabinet sub-committee led by Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, appointed K Ramakrishna Rao as a special officer, installed monitoring apps for officials, set up a toll-free grievance line and will open village centres to supply cattle fodder and drinking water.
- Reddy said rising heat has pushed peak electricity demand to about 20,000 MW, prompting appeals for power conservation, plans to expand solar generation and warnings that drinking-water shortages could soon outpace irrigation impacts and restrict daily life.