BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Sunday visited areas near Deshitikyal village in Nagarkurnool district and interacted with local farmers regarding dried crops and the difficulties caused by the ongoing dry spell.
During the visit, KTR inspected cotton and maize fields that had withered due to inadequate rainfall and irrigation issues. Farmers shared their concerns, stating that crops had dried up and changed colour, leaving them unable to recover even their investment costs. One maize farmer reportedly said he had borrowed ₹2 lakh to cultivate two acres but suffered complete loss.
KTR was accompanied by several senior BRS leaders, including former ministers Jagadish Reddy, C. Lakshma Reddy and V. Srinivas Goud, MLC Naveen Kumar Reddy, and former MLAs Marri Janardhan Reddy and Alla Venkateshwar Reddy, along with other party leaders.
After assessing the situation on the ground, the BRS Working President demanded that the state government:
Conduct an immediate and comprehensive crop loss survey covering every affected acre
Announce a special relief package and compensation for farmers who have suffered heavy losses
Address shortages in irrigation water and power supply
He alleged that despite adequate water being available in the Krishna and Godavari rivers (reportedly 248 TMC this year), irrigation was not reaching the fields properly. KTR held the Congress government responsible for the crop damage, accusing it of negligence in operating projects such as Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Rangareddy to their full potential. He claimed that more than 40% of crops in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar (Palamuru) region had been damaged.
The visit took place while KTR was returning from a programme in Kollapur. Farmers stopped him on the way and requested him to inspect their fields.
The interaction highlights the growing agrarian distress in parts of Telangana amid the deficient southwest monsoon, with several districts reporting significant rainfall shortfalls.
