Jagan blames Andhra govt for drought losses, says farmers lost up to ₹20,000 an acre
Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy alleges Andhra Pradesh farmers lost ₹15,000–₹20,000 an acre in the drought and were denied free crop insurance, blaming delayed State action.
YSR Congress Party president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday accused the Andhra Pradesh government of failing to act on early warnings of deficient rainfall, saying farmers who cultivated on the government's assurances had lost between ₹15,000 and more than ₹20,000 an acre and were left without the cover of free crop insurance.
Addressing a video conference with party secretaries, regional coordinators and district presidents, Mr. Reddy said the State was dealing not with an El Niño effect alone but with what he called a "yellow nino effect", a reference to the colour of the Telugu Desam Party flag. He alleged that the government had done little despite knowing that rainfall could fall short.
According to Mr. Reddy, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had himself flagged the possibility of an El Niño impact on February 4, but the action that followed was "zero". He said the government had not declared drought-affected mandals even though rainfall was deficient in June, July and August, and pointed to Karnataka having declared drought in advance.
The YSRCP chief further alleged that the government had not arranged alternative seeds, supplied fodder to districts or sought additional workdays under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme as drought conditions set in.
On irrigation, Mr. Reddy said water from Srisailam was not released to Rayalaseema when it could have been made available, and was instead diverted for power generation. He also accused the State of remaining silent while Telangana built lift irrigation schemes upstream and downstream of Pulichintala.
He criticised the handling of the Polavaram project, alleging that the government was compromising on its full reservoir level and, with it, the State's intended water-storage capacity. Mr. Reddy also claimed that the existing Pushkara and Purushothapatnam lift schemes were being operated and presented as new initiatives, accusing the government of "staging dramas in the name of lift schemes" while giving up storage capacity at Polavaram.