Hyderabad: Senior BJP leader Gudur Narayana Reddy accused the Congress government of failing to prepare Telangana for the El Niño crisis. He alleged that the State lacked a comprehensive water management strategy. He also claimed the government had no long-term plan to tackle a prolonged drought.
Narayana Reddy said scientific agencies had warned months ago about the possible impact of El Niño. However, he alleged that the government had failed to act in time to protect Telangana’s water resources.
Further, he urged the government to move beyond announcements and take immediate steps to prevent a severe water shortage. He called for continuous pumping of Godavari waters whenever river levels permitted. He also demanded maximum storage in reservoirs, balancing reservoirs, tanks and irrigation structures across the State.
El Niño crisis demands urgent water planning
Meanwhile, the BJP leader said the government should harvest every possible drop of water from the Godavari and Krishna rivers. He argued that no water should flow into the sea while Telangana faced one of its worst rainfall deficits in recent years. Additionally, he urged officials to operate all available pumping systems round the clock wherever technically feasible.
In addition, Narayana Reddy demanded that the government resolve technical and administrative issues relating to the Medigadda barrage without delay. He also called for continuous operation of the Kannepalli Pump House whenever river levels permitted. According to him, officials should store every possible TMC of water for irrigation and drinking needs.
Moreover, he said forecasts suggested that El Niño conditions could continue beyond the current monsoon and extend into early 2027. Therefore, he urged the government to treat the El Niño crisis as a long-term water security challenge rather than a temporary seasonal setback.
Further, Narayana Reddy criticised the government for lacking a contingency plan. He cited falling groundwater levels, declining reservoir storage and rainfall deficits across many districts. He called for an emergency programme to harvest river flows, desilt reservoirs and tanks, strengthen rainwater harvesting structures, restore feeder channels and fill every available storage facility.
Data centres and water security
Meanwhile, Narayana Reddy questioned the government’s efforts to attract artificial intelligence investments and data centres. He said the State should first ensure long-term water security. Accordingly, he asked whether the government could guarantee adequate water supplies to such water-intensive facilities if El Niño conditions persisted.
In addition, he said data centres required large quantities of water for cooling and uninterrupted operations. Therefore, he argued that the government should prepare a comprehensive water security plan before promising infrastructure to new investors.
Finally, Narayana Reddy said industrial growth should not come at the expense of drinking water and farmers’ livelihoods. He urged the government to adopt an integrated water management framework covering drinking water, agriculture and industrial requirements. The BJP leader also called for continuous reviews of reservoir operations based on rainfall forecasts and river inflows. According to him, climate change and recurring El Niño events required a complete overhaul of Telangana’s water management policy.