Telangana has urged farmers to avoid paddy cultivation as reservoir storage falls, raising concerns over irrigation needs and drinking water supplies.

As farmers gear up for the rabi season, the Telangana Government has asked them not to grow paddy this season, as water levels in all state reservoirs have fallen to critically low levels.

Though Agriculture Minister T Nageswara Rao and other government officials have voiced a similar opinion over the last few weeks, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy himself appealed to farmers to shun paddy for the summer season, saying that the State was faced with water scarcity over the next 90-10 months because of the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño.

Telangana, among the few States that grow paddy in the summer season, grows the staple food crop on 21 lakh acres. Though most of it (boiled rice) is not consumed in the State, farmers have started increasing the share of super fine varieties after the Congress Government announced a bonus of Rs 500 a quintal.

“Only then would we be able to secure Telangana’s drinking water supply. “If farmers sow at a time of water shortage, they might face severe losses and also affect the drinking water situation,” he said after reviewing the situation on Thursday.

Farmers, however, criticise the government for its unpreparedness. “Had they focussed on reviving the Kaleshwaram project and Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project, several parts of the State would have enough water this season,” T Sagar, Secretary of Telangana Rythu Sangham, said.

“Farmers are being asked not to go for paddy at a time when there is a huge demand in the market. Rice is currently being sold in the north for ₹80 a kg in the retail market. If we don’t grow paddy this season, prices will further go up over the next few months,” he said.

The Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) criticised the government for failing to provide quality power to farmers at the crucial stage of the kharif crop.

The Agriculture Minister asked farmers to switch from paddy to pulses, which require less water, to help tide over the situation.

The Chief Minister said the Krishna basin had 72% less water than it did at the same time last year. In a typical year, the State had 462 tmc of water across all reservoirs at this time; now it has only 200 tmc.

The State Government says power demand rose to 20,000 MW in October, up from 15,000 MW in the same month last year.

Published on October 16, 2026