Hyderabad: AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has warned that the Telangana drought, with rainfall 25% below normal and a likely El Niño ahead, could put heavy strain on the State’s power supply, farm output and household budgets in the coming months.
In a representation to Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka on October 28, Owaisi asked the State government to act early to avoid power shortages, shield farmers from crop losses and hold down the prices of essential goods.
Citing official figures, he said Telangana had received 619 mm of rain against a normal of 825.4 mm. October 2026 alone showed a deficit of 3.5 mm, he said, and several districts saw almost no rain during the month.
Owaisi referred to an October 8 assessment by NOAA that put the chance of a strong El Niño forming in January to March 2027 at 83%. He noted that 365 mandals in 31 districts had been declared drought-affected and said the agriculture, power, irrigation and civil supplies departments needed to work together.
Power demand could reach 23,000 MW next summer, says Owaisi
A large part of the letter dealt with electricity. Owaisi said peak demand had already gone past 20,000 MW on October 15, 2026, and was expected to climb to 22,000 to 23,000 MW in the summer, as heat drives up the use of air-conditioners, coolers, refrigeration and pumps.
He said feeders and transformers in parts of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Medchal were already overloaded in the evening and at night because of added air-conditioners and appliances. He also cited complaints of unscheduled power cuts hurting farmers and standing crops.
Owaisi asked the government to run Telangana’s thermal plants at full capacity. The Yadadri Thermal Power Plant, he said, has a capacity of 4,000 MW but currently generates only 1,200 to 1,500 MW, and should run at its full available capacity during the high-demand period.
He sought enough power purchases to cover any gap in the summer of 2027, especially in the evening peak. Feeder and transformer upgrades and maintenance work should be finished well before summer, he said, instead of after the network comes under pressure.
He urged TSSPDCL to keep technical staff on duty round the clock, particularly at night, add fault-repair and breakdown teams, and stock materials for emergency repairs in advance. He also suggested special preparations for February and March, when major events and gatherings in Hyderabad could push consumption higher.
Telangana drought: kharif area down by 13.22 lakh acres
On agriculture, Owaisi said the area under kharif crops had shrunk from 1.39 crore acres to 1.26 crore acres, a fall of 13.22 lakh acres. Paddy acreage dropped 18%, from 69.19 lakh acres to 57 lakh acres, according to his letter.
He warned that the smaller sown area, together with poor irrigation supply and low reservoirs, could hit production and farm incomes. Live storage in major and medium irrigation reservoirs stood at 179.63 TMC against a combined capacity of 585 TMC, he said.
Owaisi said the government was reportedly considering a crop holiday for rabi because of the irrigation shortage. He asked for a clear and reliable Yasangi irrigation schedule for each command area, prepared jointly by the Agriculture and Irrigation Departments, so farmers know in advance how much water they will get.
If a crop holiday is declared, he said, it must come with a firm support package covering compensation, seeds and inputs for alternative crops, farm employment, extension advice and reliable marketing.
He sought crop insurance and compensation with clear rules for verification and loss assessment, proposing that assessments be completed within 15 days and payments made within 30 days of approval. He also asked that viable standing crops and perennial plantations be protected using forecasts and advisories from the India Meteorological Department, Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. District-level accounts of fodder and water for livestock should also be prepared, he said.
Sugar at Rs 80 a kg, ginger at Rs 70: Owaisi seeks wider PDS
Owaisi said Telangana was facing high retail inflation. According to his letter, urad has risen from Rs 100 per kg from Rs 80, sugar to Rs 80 from Rs 45, jaggery to Rs 75 from Rs 55, onion to Rs 50 from Rs 30, ginger to Rs 70 from Rs 30 and tomato to Rs 40 from Rs 30. Chicken was selling at nearly Rs 300 per kg and eggs at Rs 8 each, he said.
He pointed out that Telangana grows only about 40 to 50% of the vegetables it needs and relies on Maharashtra and Karnataka for the rest, so any fall in production or break in interstate supply could push prices up further.
He demanded that the Public Distribution System be expanded without delay to supply subsidised edible oil, sugar, wheat and pulses through fair price shops. He also sought a special drive against illegal hoarding by traders with open enforcement, weekly publication of retail and wholesale prices in Hyderabad and neighbouring districts, and a complaint system for overcharging.
Owaisi asked the government to handle power demand, farm distress and inflation as linked problems rather than separate ones, and said early planning was needed to ease the burden on farmers, workers and consumers through the dry season.