facts about telangana..
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andhra valasa palanalo telanganaa
http://www.ziddu.com/download/7869861/Andhra_Valasa_Palanalo_Telangana.pdf.html
Thursday, January 28, 2010
108 Facts about Telangana - need and justification
108 Facts about Telangana - need and justification
1) Catchment area of Krishna Basin
Rayalaseema 18%
Andhra 13%
Telangana 69%
Allocation of Krishna water as per tribunal recommendation=
Rayalaseema 16%
Andhra 49%
Telangana 35%
Actual utilization
Rayalaseema 13%
Andhra 87%
Telangana less than 1%
2) Godavari river catchment area
Telangana 79% (1170 TMC)
Andhra 21% (310 TMC)
Utilization of Godavari waters
Andhra 23% (320 TMC i.e. 110% of allotted)
Telangana 9.6 % (143 TMC)
405 TMC is being diverted to Andhra via Polavaram project
3) Total loss of water share of Telangana merging with Andhra is 1125 TMC.With estimation of 1 TMC to serve 10,000 acres, total cultivation land Telangana lost is 11, 25,000 acres.
4) There are 10 districts in Telangana, 9 in Andhra, 4 in Rayalaseema. Out of these 7 districts in Telangana, 3 in Andhra and 1 in Rayalaseema are considered severely backward districts which means 70% of districts in Telangana are backward while in Andhra - 35% and in Rayalaseema - 25%
5) 65% of Industries in Telangana are owned by Andhra.One Telangana person (close relative of Sri Jaipal Reddy) tried to start industry in west Godavari, he was harassed and tormented so much that he gave it up half way through.
6) All Telangana region CM's combined tenure is hardly 6 years.
7) From past 50 years AP got nearly 40 major projects in which 37 went to Seemandhra region
8) Telangana side:
- SLBC (30 TMC) not taken up
- SLBC beyond Musi river (20 TMC) not taken up
- RDS extension (10 TMC) not taken up
- LIS to high level areas in Mahabubnagar not taken up
- Bheema LIS 20 TMC under construction for many years
Seemandhra side:
- Telugu Ganga project (29 TMC) completed
- SRBC (19 TMC) completed
- KC canal extension completed (10 TMC)
- Upland areas Brahmamgari matham reservoir (10 TMC) completed
- SRBC beyond Gorakallu (20TMC) under construction
- Puchintala evaporation losses (5 TMC) under construction
- Veligonda not recommended project (40 TMC) almost completed
- Handrineeva sujala sarvanthi not recommended (38 TMC) almost completed
- Galerunagari sujala sravanthi not recommended (38 TMC) is under construction
9) Pothireddypadu regulator was originally created for drinking water to Chennai with 5 TMC. Gradually 5 projects were ‘piggy backed’ & augmented to canal. In the name of Chennai drinking water, Rayalaseema leaders wanted to take away the entire waters of Srisailam reservoir.
10) Veligonda project is being constructed on war footing basis. This will drain 60 TMC of water from Srisailam. This project is not allotted (water share by tribunal) and do not have clearance till now.
11) Handrineeva Srujana Sravanthi, not allotted not cleared project is going on war footing now. It will run through chittoor via Anantapur.
12) SLBC - Srisailam Left Bank Canal, despite of all recommendations, Clearances and permissions never started. This would have provided 30 TMC for 3 Lakh acres in Nalgonda district.
13) Manuguru thermal power station proposed by Central govt due to proximity of coal mines was lobbied to be shifted to Vijayawada, transporting coal from telangana (singareni). This led to shortage of power due to pump set usage by Telangana farmers.
14) Ramagundam super thermal power station (2500 MW) transferred to NTPC,crippling power ownership of state by which we get only 27% of power produced and rest is pooled in national grid.
15) Dummugudem Hydal power station never even started construction – this remained a promise on paper.
16) Icchampalli power (975 MW) project never started.
17) Power regulatory mechanisms – 220 KV, 132 KV, 32 KV substations and lines never realized in Telangana region.
18) If Mumbai is not a free-zone, Delhi is not a freezone, Kolkatta is not a free zone, Chennai is not a free zone, Pune is not a freezone … why should Hyderabad be a freezone ? Andhra enthusiasts hailing Hydrabad being a free zone, were demanding entire Telangana should be freezone.
19) Telangana covers 41.7% area, Seemandhra 58.3% area. Telangana has 40.5% population , Seemandhra 59.5%. Telangana revenue is 53% to the state exchequer.
20) 1953 Andhra Pradesh the area irrigated under TANKS in the Telangana 11 lakh acres. Now it is hardly 6.5 lakh acres.
21) Andhra 9 districts – funds spent on education – Rs 1308.56 Crores Rayalaseema 4 dist – funds spent on education – Rs 382.87 Crores Telangana 10 districts – funds spent on education – Rs 163.39 Crores
22) Literacy – Andhra (9 districts) 42%, Rayalaseema (4 districts) 38%,
Telangana (10 districts) 30%
23) Andhra 9 districts – schools 26,800 Rayalaseema 4 dist – schools 13,000 Telangana 10 dist – 17,954
24) Hospitals Andhra (9 dist) 666, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 303, Telangana (10 dist) 270
25) Total Govt employees – Seemandhra (13 districts) 9 lakhs, Telangana (10 dist) 3 lakhs
26) IAS/IPS/IFS officers (civil services) – Andhra (9 dist) 225, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 50, Telangana (10 dist) 60
27) Industries (small/medium/large) – Andhra (9 dist) 6,100, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 773, Telangana (10 dist) 1250
28) Power Utilization Andhra (9 dist) 54% - Rayalaseema (4 dist) 23% - Telangana (10 dist) 23%
29) Nagarjuna sagar project – Andhra submerged land = 0, cultilavation land 20 lakh acres. Telangana submerged land = 100%, cultivation land 4.5 lakh acres
30) Polavaram project is submerging 250 small villages in Telangana, displacing 5 lakh tribal’s are going to provide lakhs of acres cultivation land to Andhra.
31) Grant-in-aid Private Degree colleges Andhra (9 dist) - 96, Rayalaseema (4 dist) - 32, Telangana (10 dist) - 30
32) There are more than 130 posts of heads of departments. Out of them only 7 or 8 are held by the officers belonging to the Telangana region.
33) Sales Tax collection (2001- 2002) – Andhra 21%, Rayalaseema 5%, Telangana 74%
34) Excise Collections (2001-2002) – Andhra 24%, Rayalaseema 10%, Telangana 66%
35) APPSC – Andhra Pradesh public service commission board members so
far, 8 from Andhra, 6 from Rayalaseema, 2 from Telangana.
36) Telanganites constitutes 23% in all industries in Telangana area, 0% in Andhra, Rayalaseema area
37) All housing board colonies in capital city – 93% people are from Seemandhra.
38) Govt Libraries – Andhra (9 districts) 630, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 243,Telangana (10 dist) 450.
39) In 70’s – Jublee hills lands were purchased at Rs 105 per acre. Total acres 1400. All Telanganites living in that area were thrown out, jublee hills housing society did not have a single Telanganite.
40) Panchayat Raj divisions – Andhra (9 dist) 883, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 342,Telangana (10 dist) 295.
41) Most backward district in AP is Mahabubnagar, was granted 4% white ration cards. Most developed dist in AP is West Godavari dist was given 7% white ration cards.
42) 100% power of Vizag thermal (simhadri) is being used for Andhra only, but 27% power of Ramagundam is being used for A.P.
43) 82% of farmers are depending on private loans in Telangana
44) If development was the justification for keeping an alien ruler in place, India should have never been free from British rule !
45) There was no single drop of water in Palanadu 350yrs ago, it was like a desert. Now, entire Telangana canal irrigation land is less than Guntur dist alone.
46) Rs 60 crores of surplus budget was the pride of Telangana in 1948. When Andhra state was formed – it had only 1 Crore in hand given by Madras govt, and Shri Raj Gopalachari said ‘Get lost from here’.
47) Dr.B.R.Ambedkar suggested Hyderabad second capitol of India. He said
Hyderabad is better than Delhi.
48) Government buys sugar cane from farmers (per quintal) in Andhra – Rs 1200, Telangana –Rs 890 Andhra lands are canal cultivated – Telangana depend on bore wells.
49) Andhrites converted Telangana -WAKF lands in to revenue lands in the era of real-estate boom, Lanco is main culprit in this, remember Muslim brothers shouted ‘go back’ at Lagadapati ?
50) 150 forts are about to ruin in the Telangana which were built by various dynasties. They are symbols of great cultural heritage.
51) Hyd Central University is filled with Andhraits – every Central University in India has 60% reserved for local region. Except HCU.
52) Pranahita project, there is no staff, no sufficient funding, don’t even have proper office, but Andhra ruler says project will be completed 4yrs
53) There are never any difficulties in construction of irrigation projects in Andhra. But why irregularities, corruption, delays in Telangana projects?
54) Mahabubnagar 35lakhs population, migration 14 lakhs, 350km of Krishna stretch, there is no drinking water or irrigation water.
55) How many JNTU colleges should be there in 10 dist of Telangana, if 2 are in 4 districts of Rayalaseema ?
56) AP dairy buys milk from farmers from Andhra Rs 24.30, Telangana Rs 22.30
57) 450 tribal villages, millions of tons of limestone, rich minerals, lot of natural biodiversity…are going to submerge if Polavaram project is built
58) Telangana is bigger than 24 states. Total official countries in the world are 194. Telangana will be bigger than 160 countries.
59) Seemandhra revenue 38.5% - Expenditure 49%, Telangana revenue 61.5% Expenditure 51%
60) Jallianwala bagh, General Dyer, 1919 yr - 379 shot dead. Telangana, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, 1969 - 370 students shot dead.
61) WHO declared Nalgonda dist affected with fluorisis so much that it is moving towards No Man Zone.
62) While merging with Andhra leaders agreed to continue Mulki rules in Telangana. As per this 100% employees in Telangana should be from Telangana only.
63) Nizam formulated mulki rules in 1919, a person to get job in they must be Telangana from 15yrs,but now Andhra rulers reduced the period to 4yrs.
64) Seemandhrites got 28000 jobs in Telangana by getting bogus mulki certificates between 1956-1968. Between 1975 to 1985 again 58000 by violating presidential order.
65) In 1969 students/employees agitated against 28000 jobs by Andhra. Andhra rulers killed 370 students.
66) In 1972, Andhra rulers managed to cancel supreme court judgment by parliament, then 6 point formula was introduced for jobs. As per this formula Telangana split into zone 5, zone 6.
67) As per presidential order Telangana people should get reservation 80% dist posts,70% zonal posts, 60% Gazetted posts. Remaining 20%,30%,40% shall be open to other regions – what’s happening now ?
68) In 1985, 610 GO for transfer of 58000 employs from Telangana, but this GO is never implemented. That too 610 GO is restricted to 102 departments only, out of 250 govt departments.
69) In 2001, Chandra Babu Naidu (CM) appointed Girglani Commission which submitted report in 2004, that 2 lakh Seemandhra employs are working in Telangana.
70) Only 23% Singareni coal is used in Telangana. Remaining 77% is being drained out to other places.
71) Per Capita Funds allocation to Student in universities.
SV University - Rs. 37500, Andhra University - Rs 35500
SK University - Rs 25000, Nagarjuna University - Rs 22700
OU - Rs 17400, K.U - Rs 14000
72) Cultivation land (Lakh Acres) Before 1956, Andhra 30.65, Telangana 18.20 In 2004, Andhra 69.27, Telangana 18.00
73) Andhrites love for Hyd is like Pakistan’s love for Kashmir. They are ready to go to any extent to capture it.
74) Kothagudem thermal power station sabotaged on purpose to obtain repair contracts to Andhra contractors in 1978, this is confirmed in single man commission (Sundar Ramaiah commission – 1979)
75) All APSEB scams occurred so far at high level in board are targeted towards Telangana power supply and distribution, never to Andhra or Rayalaseema region. Higher officials found guilty by Vimal Lal commission, the recommendation were never implemented.
76) Technically it is possible to develop water grid to benefit Telangana, Rayalaseema and Andhra regions – it would match in comparison with Mississippi river water system (USA), Three Gorges river system (China),Nile river (Aswan dam) Africa and Rhine river system Europe. Similar models were conceived by intellectuals but are trashed by Andhra rulers and pseudo intellectuals because they will benefit Telangana.
77) 1969 - after Jai Telangana movement 'All Party Accord' was formulated, scrapped within 6 months. Than 8-point formula, 5-point formula were announced. then supreme court upheld Mulki rules. Andhra elites could not digest it, launched Jai Andhra movement. Central govt yielded as usual to elites tactics, then 6-point formula. Even this is being violated royally many times, robbing Telangana its rightfulness.
78) Nagarjuna Sagar initially meant to benefit Andhra and Telangana. Later on it is modified in such a way that 75% of the benefit is accruing to Andhra reducing the share of Telangana region to just 25%. Andhra settlers own 50% of these 25% utilization lands.
79) Singur project was originally designed to meet primarily the irrigation needs of Medak and Nizamabad districts. But it is now solely used for meeting the requirements of capital city.
80) Jurala Project which is the first project on river Krishna meant for Telangana,
is the smallest of all the projects built on this river. The Bachawat Tribunal allocated just 17.5 TMC ft. water for this project, and the state government reduced its storage capacity to 60% ft. But the actual utilization so far has not been more than 10%
81) Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme, was to irrigate 87500 acres in Mahabubnagar. The Bachawat Tribunal also allocated 15.90 TMC ft. of water for this project. This water has to pass through a canal in Raichur district of Karnataka State. After the formation of Andhra Pradesh landlords of Rayalaseema blasted the gates with bombs and diverted water to their land. Since then Govt never even tried to reconstruct the gates.
82) Devadula Project, provides water for 5 lakh acres, was promised to be finished in 5 yrs in 2001, yet to begin work. The funniest fact is, Sriram sagar is yet to be completed for last 40 yrs which provides water for just 4 lakh acres. Telangana people are supposed to believe the promise.
83) Two major projects proposed on river Godavari are Ichampally and Polavaram. Ichampally is meant for Telangana and Polavaram for Andhra.The irrigation potential of Polavaram Project would be 6 to 7 times more than the irrigation potential of Ichampally. Ichampally is going to be primarily a power project not a irrigation project !
84) Andhra lands are irrigated by canal irrigation i.e. with tax payer’s money. Andhra farmer pays Rs 200 - 300 per annum as water charges. Telangana lands are irrigated by bore wells, entire cost is on the farmer . Digging, power, bore well, motor, pipes. He struggles with fluctuations in power supplies with irregularities and pathetic power distribution pattern in Telangana.
85) Technological University was actually started in Warangal but was shifted to Hyderabad, Open University was originally Nalgonda district but was later shifted Hyd. The same state level universities University of Health Sciences, Mahila University and the University of Dravidian Languages were allowed to stay in Seemandhra - not moved to Capital city.
86) Twelve milk chilling plants established by the erstwhile Telangana Regional Committee in different parts of Telangana have been abruptly closed down showing lack of funds as a reason.
87) Ramagundam is in heart of coal belt … Fertilizer plant is closed showing areason as poor quality of coal. NTPC is running with same coal, VTPS is running with same coal. Subsequently, Fertilizer plants are started in Nellore and Andhra.
88) Based on the proportionality at least 40% of jobs, i.e. 6 lakhs, should have gone to Telangana. But the total number of jobs now occupied by them is less than 3 lakhs.
89) 1972, PV Narasimha Rao made an attempt to implement the verdict of Supreme Court validating the Mulki Rules. The verdict was in favor of Telangana. Seemandhra gave outrageous reaction, he lost his Chief Ministership.
91) Daily wage workers working in industries – from Andhra (9 districts) 3.16 lakhs, from Rayalaseema (4 districts)– 0.7 lakhs, Telangana (10 district) 0.81 lakhs.
92) Andhra controlled media never highlighted migration of 15 lakh people out of 24lakh population from Mahabubnagar due to draught conditions. T. Anjaiah CM of AP from Telangana region was presented as a buffoon in dailies and cartoons.
93) At the time of merger Andhra leaders persuaded Telangana leaders by offering many safeguards against exploitation. They also passed a Unanimous Resolution’ in November 1955 in Andhra Assembly in support of safeguards and subsequently they put these safeguards in an Agreement on 20th February. 1956 which is known as “Gentlemen’s Agreement”. All are trashed soon after the agreement is signed.
94) Proportional representation says Telangana should get 42% jobs in the Secretariat, but only 9% are working now. How can a people representative, MLA, MLC can get a work done if 91% do not help ?
95) Metro Rail project is being designed dilapidating 5000 shops, 2500 houses,147 schools, 120 hospitals, 60 Temples/Masjid/Churches. Historical monuments will disappear. All shops and complexes throughout Metro rail route are with Seemandhra thugs.
96) 1947 India got Independence. 1948 Indian Army did police action to dethrone Nizam. Hyd state existed from 1949 to 1956. Telangana merged with Andhra against its wishes in1956. Telangana has nothing to do with Potti Sriramulu.
97) Telangana Sayudha Poratam, (Telangana armed struggle) was against Nizam facist rule, 4000 people died - inspired all subsequent land movements in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura and paved way for formation of Communist governments in those States. This is never acknowledged by Seemandhra rulers so far.
98) Despite 69% Krishna, 79% Godavari flows through Telangana, irrigation cost is Rs.1500/acre. 13% of Krishna, 21% Godavari flows through Andhra irrigation cost is Rs.150/acre.
99) Per capita income of Madhya Pradesh: Rs 18,051. Chattisgarh formed in 2000. Per capita income of Chhattisgarh in 2008-09 - Rs. 29,621. Recently formed smaller states are catching up with Haryana is 71%, Himachal is 81% and Uttarakhand is 75% - now Jharkhand 58%, Chhattisgarh 63%. Also, Infant mortality UP 67%, Uttarakhand 44%.
100) year 2008 Targeted growth rate & achieved: bigger states: MP 7% - 4.3%; UP 7.6% - 4.6%; Bihar 6.2% 4.7% smaller states: Chhattisgarh 6.1% - 9.2%; Jharkhand 6.9% - 11.1% Uttaranchal 6.8% - 8.8%
101) Since 1956 to date, the additional irrigation potential created in Telangana is only 5%
102) There are 10,000+ Industrial units in Telangana, 1200 are owned by Telanganites, 6500 are owned by Seemandhra, rest are by outsiders.
103) Proportionally Telangana should be given about 43% in budget allocation, Since 1953, it never exceeded 30%. Yet Telangana contributes 42% of revenue to the state exchequer.
104) Nizamsagar was built in 1931 to serve Nizamabad and Medak about 2.7 lakh acres of land. It was neglected for maintenance and improvements, now satellite images prove that all its 83 tributaries, 243 distributaries have been silted up and eroded. World bank sanctioned 30 crores for the project, which was never spent. The project now going to be almost useless.
105) In Andhra region every year two crops are cultivated because of water availability, in Telangana a single crop will be cultivated with great difficulty.
106) Technical institutions wise, 26 are in Telangana, 54 are in Andhra. 20 polytechnics in Telangana, 70 in Andhra. 2 Medical colleges in Telangana, 6 in Andhra.
107) British build Railways, Administrative Services, Post and Telegraph, installed democratic institutions, judiciary, rule of law, and built the cities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, and New Delhi. British did not claim any of these when they had to leave India. Seemandhra are making big hue and cry clamoring for Hyderabad claiming they have built the city. In 400 yrs of Hyderabad history, how many years did they contribute the 'development' ?
108) Hyderabad - demographic expansion can never be considered as a development. It’s natural growth. It is like a girl who is 10 yrs now will attain 15yrs of age after 5 yrs – can we call it development ? Also, its not just Hyd which is developed … all big/medium cities in India are in development path.
1) Catchment area of Krishna Basin
Rayalaseema 18%
Andhra 13%
Telangana 69%
Allocation of Krishna water as per tribunal recommendation=
Rayalaseema 16%
Andhra 49%
Telangana 35%
Actual utilization
Rayalaseema 13%
Andhra 87%
Telangana less than 1%
2) Godavari river catchment area
Telangana 79% (1170 TMC)
Andhra 21% (310 TMC)
Utilization of Godavari waters
Andhra 23% (320 TMC i.e. 110% of allotted)
Telangana 9.6 % (143 TMC)
405 TMC is being diverted to Andhra via Polavaram project
3) Total loss of water share of Telangana merging with Andhra is 1125 TMC.With estimation of 1 TMC to serve 10,000 acres, total cultivation land Telangana lost is 11, 25,000 acres.
4) There are 10 districts in Telangana, 9 in Andhra, 4 in Rayalaseema. Out of these 7 districts in Telangana, 3 in Andhra and 1 in Rayalaseema are considered severely backward districts which means 70% of districts in Telangana are backward while in Andhra - 35% and in Rayalaseema - 25%
5) 65% of Industries in Telangana are owned by Andhra.One Telangana person (close relative of Sri Jaipal Reddy) tried to start industry in west Godavari, he was harassed and tormented so much that he gave it up half way through.
6) All Telangana region CM's combined tenure is hardly 6 years.
7) From past 50 years AP got nearly 40 major projects in which 37 went to Seemandhra region
8) Telangana side:
- SLBC (30 TMC) not taken up
- SLBC beyond Musi river (20 TMC) not taken up
- RDS extension (10 TMC) not taken up
- LIS to high level areas in Mahabubnagar not taken up
- Bheema LIS 20 TMC under construction for many years
Seemandhra side:
- Telugu Ganga project (29 TMC) completed
- SRBC (19 TMC) completed
- KC canal extension completed (10 TMC)
- Upland areas Brahmamgari matham reservoir (10 TMC) completed
- SRBC beyond Gorakallu (20TMC) under construction
- Puchintala evaporation losses (5 TMC) under construction
- Veligonda not recommended project (40 TMC) almost completed
- Handrineeva sujala sarvanthi not recommended (38 TMC) almost completed
- Galerunagari sujala sravanthi not recommended (38 TMC) is under construction
9) Pothireddypadu regulator was originally created for drinking water to Chennai with 5 TMC. Gradually 5 projects were ‘piggy backed’ & augmented to canal. In the name of Chennai drinking water, Rayalaseema leaders wanted to take away the entire waters of Srisailam reservoir.
10) Veligonda project is being constructed on war footing basis. This will drain 60 TMC of water from Srisailam. This project is not allotted (water share by tribunal) and do not have clearance till now.
11) Handrineeva Srujana Sravanthi, not allotted not cleared project is going on war footing now. It will run through chittoor via Anantapur.
12) SLBC - Srisailam Left Bank Canal, despite of all recommendations, Clearances and permissions never started. This would have provided 30 TMC for 3 Lakh acres in Nalgonda district.
13) Manuguru thermal power station proposed by Central govt due to proximity of coal mines was lobbied to be shifted to Vijayawada, transporting coal from telangana (singareni). This led to shortage of power due to pump set usage by Telangana farmers.
14) Ramagundam super thermal power station (2500 MW) transferred to NTPC,crippling power ownership of state by which we get only 27% of power produced and rest is pooled in national grid.
15) Dummugudem Hydal power station never even started construction – this remained a promise on paper.
16) Icchampalli power (975 MW) project never started.
17) Power regulatory mechanisms – 220 KV, 132 KV, 32 KV substations and lines never realized in Telangana region.
18) If Mumbai is not a free-zone, Delhi is not a freezone, Kolkatta is not a free zone, Chennai is not a free zone, Pune is not a freezone … why should Hyderabad be a freezone ? Andhra enthusiasts hailing Hydrabad being a free zone, were demanding entire Telangana should be freezone.
19) Telangana covers 41.7% area, Seemandhra 58.3% area. Telangana has 40.5% population , Seemandhra 59.5%. Telangana revenue is 53% to the state exchequer.
20) 1953 Andhra Pradesh the area irrigated under TANKS in the Telangana 11 lakh acres. Now it is hardly 6.5 lakh acres.
21) Andhra 9 districts – funds spent on education – Rs 1308.56 Crores Rayalaseema 4 dist – funds spent on education – Rs 382.87 Crores Telangana 10 districts – funds spent on education – Rs 163.39 Crores
22) Literacy – Andhra (9 districts) 42%, Rayalaseema (4 districts) 38%,
Telangana (10 districts) 30%
23) Andhra 9 districts – schools 26,800 Rayalaseema 4 dist – schools 13,000 Telangana 10 dist – 17,954
24) Hospitals Andhra (9 dist) 666, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 303, Telangana (10 dist) 270
25) Total Govt employees – Seemandhra (13 districts) 9 lakhs, Telangana (10 dist) 3 lakhs
26) IAS/IPS/IFS officers (civil services) – Andhra (9 dist) 225, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 50, Telangana (10 dist) 60
27) Industries (small/medium/large) – Andhra (9 dist) 6,100, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 773, Telangana (10 dist) 1250
28) Power Utilization Andhra (9 dist) 54% - Rayalaseema (4 dist) 23% - Telangana (10 dist) 23%
29) Nagarjuna sagar project – Andhra submerged land = 0, cultilavation land 20 lakh acres. Telangana submerged land = 100%, cultivation land 4.5 lakh acres
30) Polavaram project is submerging 250 small villages in Telangana, displacing 5 lakh tribal’s are going to provide lakhs of acres cultivation land to Andhra.
31) Grant-in-aid Private Degree colleges Andhra (9 dist) - 96, Rayalaseema (4 dist) - 32, Telangana (10 dist) - 30
32) There are more than 130 posts of heads of departments. Out of them only 7 or 8 are held by the officers belonging to the Telangana region.
33) Sales Tax collection (2001- 2002) – Andhra 21%, Rayalaseema 5%, Telangana 74%
34) Excise Collections (2001-2002) – Andhra 24%, Rayalaseema 10%, Telangana 66%
35) APPSC – Andhra Pradesh public service commission board members so
far, 8 from Andhra, 6 from Rayalaseema, 2 from Telangana.
36) Telanganites constitutes 23% in all industries in Telangana area, 0% in Andhra, Rayalaseema area
37) All housing board colonies in capital city – 93% people are from Seemandhra.
38) Govt Libraries – Andhra (9 districts) 630, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 243,Telangana (10 dist) 450.
39) In 70’s – Jublee hills lands were purchased at Rs 105 per acre. Total acres 1400. All Telanganites living in that area were thrown out, jublee hills housing society did not have a single Telanganite.
40) Panchayat Raj divisions – Andhra (9 dist) 883, Rayalaseema (4 dist) 342,Telangana (10 dist) 295.
41) Most backward district in AP is Mahabubnagar, was granted 4% white ration cards. Most developed dist in AP is West Godavari dist was given 7% white ration cards.
42) 100% power of Vizag thermal (simhadri) is being used for Andhra only, but 27% power of Ramagundam is being used for A.P.
43) 82% of farmers are depending on private loans in Telangana
44) If development was the justification for keeping an alien ruler in place, India should have never been free from British rule !
45) There was no single drop of water in Palanadu 350yrs ago, it was like a desert. Now, entire Telangana canal irrigation land is less than Guntur dist alone.
46) Rs 60 crores of surplus budget was the pride of Telangana in 1948. When Andhra state was formed – it had only 1 Crore in hand given by Madras govt, and Shri Raj Gopalachari said ‘Get lost from here’.
47) Dr.B.R.Ambedkar suggested Hyderabad second capitol of India. He said
Hyderabad is better than Delhi.
48) Government buys sugar cane from farmers (per quintal) in Andhra – Rs 1200, Telangana –Rs 890 Andhra lands are canal cultivated – Telangana depend on bore wells.
49) Andhrites converted Telangana -WAKF lands in to revenue lands in the era of real-estate boom, Lanco is main culprit in this, remember Muslim brothers shouted ‘go back’ at Lagadapati ?
50) 150 forts are about to ruin in the Telangana which were built by various dynasties. They are symbols of great cultural heritage.
51) Hyd Central University is filled with Andhraits – every Central University in India has 60% reserved for local region. Except HCU.
52) Pranahita project, there is no staff, no sufficient funding, don’t even have proper office, but Andhra ruler says project will be completed 4yrs
53) There are never any difficulties in construction of irrigation projects in Andhra. But why irregularities, corruption, delays in Telangana projects?
54) Mahabubnagar 35lakhs population, migration 14 lakhs, 350km of Krishna stretch, there is no drinking water or irrigation water.
55) How many JNTU colleges should be there in 10 dist of Telangana, if 2 are in 4 districts of Rayalaseema ?
56) AP dairy buys milk from farmers from Andhra Rs 24.30, Telangana Rs 22.30
57) 450 tribal villages, millions of tons of limestone, rich minerals, lot of natural biodiversity…are going to submerge if Polavaram project is built
58) Telangana is bigger than 24 states. Total official countries in the world are 194. Telangana will be bigger than 160 countries.
59) Seemandhra revenue 38.5% - Expenditure 49%, Telangana revenue 61.5% Expenditure 51%
60) Jallianwala bagh, General Dyer, 1919 yr - 379 shot dead. Telangana, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, 1969 - 370 students shot dead.
61) WHO declared Nalgonda dist affected with fluorisis so much that it is moving towards No Man Zone.
62) While merging with Andhra leaders agreed to continue Mulki rules in Telangana. As per this 100% employees in Telangana should be from Telangana only.
63) Nizam formulated mulki rules in 1919, a person to get job in they must be Telangana from 15yrs,but now Andhra rulers reduced the period to 4yrs.
64) Seemandhrites got 28000 jobs in Telangana by getting bogus mulki certificates between 1956-1968. Between 1975 to 1985 again 58000 by violating presidential order.
65) In 1969 students/employees agitated against 28000 jobs by Andhra. Andhra rulers killed 370 students.
66) In 1972, Andhra rulers managed to cancel supreme court judgment by parliament, then 6 point formula was introduced for jobs. As per this formula Telangana split into zone 5, zone 6.
67) As per presidential order Telangana people should get reservation 80% dist posts,70% zonal posts, 60% Gazetted posts. Remaining 20%,30%,40% shall be open to other regions – what’s happening now ?
68) In 1985, 610 GO for transfer of 58000 employs from Telangana, but this GO is never implemented. That too 610 GO is restricted to 102 departments only, out of 250 govt departments.
69) In 2001, Chandra Babu Naidu (CM) appointed Girglani Commission which submitted report in 2004, that 2 lakh Seemandhra employs are working in Telangana.
70) Only 23% Singareni coal is used in Telangana. Remaining 77% is being drained out to other places.
71) Per Capita Funds allocation to Student in universities.
SV University - Rs. 37500, Andhra University - Rs 35500
SK University - Rs 25000, Nagarjuna University - Rs 22700
OU - Rs 17400, K.U - Rs 14000
72) Cultivation land (Lakh Acres) Before 1956, Andhra 30.65, Telangana 18.20 In 2004, Andhra 69.27, Telangana 18.00
73) Andhrites love for Hyd is like Pakistan’s love for Kashmir. They are ready to go to any extent to capture it.
74) Kothagudem thermal power station sabotaged on purpose to obtain repair contracts to Andhra contractors in 1978, this is confirmed in single man commission (Sundar Ramaiah commission – 1979)
75) All APSEB scams occurred so far at high level in board are targeted towards Telangana power supply and distribution, never to Andhra or Rayalaseema region. Higher officials found guilty by Vimal Lal commission, the recommendation were never implemented.
76) Technically it is possible to develop water grid to benefit Telangana, Rayalaseema and Andhra regions – it would match in comparison with Mississippi river water system (USA), Three Gorges river system (China),Nile river (Aswan dam) Africa and Rhine river system Europe. Similar models were conceived by intellectuals but are trashed by Andhra rulers and pseudo intellectuals because they will benefit Telangana.
77) 1969 - after Jai Telangana movement 'All Party Accord' was formulated, scrapped within 6 months. Than 8-point formula, 5-point formula were announced. then supreme court upheld Mulki rules. Andhra elites could not digest it, launched Jai Andhra movement. Central govt yielded as usual to elites tactics, then 6-point formula. Even this is being violated royally many times, robbing Telangana its rightfulness.
78) Nagarjuna Sagar initially meant to benefit Andhra and Telangana. Later on it is modified in such a way that 75% of the benefit is accruing to Andhra reducing the share of Telangana region to just 25%. Andhra settlers own 50% of these 25% utilization lands.
79) Singur project was originally designed to meet primarily the irrigation needs of Medak and Nizamabad districts. But it is now solely used for meeting the requirements of capital city.
80) Jurala Project which is the first project on river Krishna meant for Telangana,
is the smallest of all the projects built on this river. The Bachawat Tribunal allocated just 17.5 TMC ft. water for this project, and the state government reduced its storage capacity to 60% ft. But the actual utilization so far has not been more than 10%
81) Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme, was to irrigate 87500 acres in Mahabubnagar. The Bachawat Tribunal also allocated 15.90 TMC ft. of water for this project. This water has to pass through a canal in Raichur district of Karnataka State. After the formation of Andhra Pradesh landlords of Rayalaseema blasted the gates with bombs and diverted water to their land. Since then Govt never even tried to reconstruct the gates.
82) Devadula Project, provides water for 5 lakh acres, was promised to be finished in 5 yrs in 2001, yet to begin work. The funniest fact is, Sriram sagar is yet to be completed for last 40 yrs which provides water for just 4 lakh acres. Telangana people are supposed to believe the promise.
83) Two major projects proposed on river Godavari are Ichampally and Polavaram. Ichampally is meant for Telangana and Polavaram for Andhra.The irrigation potential of Polavaram Project would be 6 to 7 times more than the irrigation potential of Ichampally. Ichampally is going to be primarily a power project not a irrigation project !
84) Andhra lands are irrigated by canal irrigation i.e. with tax payer’s money. Andhra farmer pays Rs 200 - 300 per annum as water charges. Telangana lands are irrigated by bore wells, entire cost is on the farmer . Digging, power, bore well, motor, pipes. He struggles with fluctuations in power supplies with irregularities and pathetic power distribution pattern in Telangana.
85) Technological University was actually started in Warangal but was shifted to Hyderabad, Open University was originally Nalgonda district but was later shifted Hyd. The same state level universities University of Health Sciences, Mahila University and the University of Dravidian Languages were allowed to stay in Seemandhra - not moved to Capital city.
86) Twelve milk chilling plants established by the erstwhile Telangana Regional Committee in different parts of Telangana have been abruptly closed down showing lack of funds as a reason.
87) Ramagundam is in heart of coal belt … Fertilizer plant is closed showing areason as poor quality of coal. NTPC is running with same coal, VTPS is running with same coal. Subsequently, Fertilizer plants are started in Nellore and Andhra.
88) Based on the proportionality at least 40% of jobs, i.e. 6 lakhs, should have gone to Telangana. But the total number of jobs now occupied by them is less than 3 lakhs.
89) 1972, PV Narasimha Rao made an attempt to implement the verdict of Supreme Court validating the Mulki Rules. The verdict was in favor of Telangana. Seemandhra gave outrageous reaction, he lost his Chief Ministership.
91) Daily wage workers working in industries – from Andhra (9 districts) 3.16 lakhs, from Rayalaseema (4 districts)– 0.7 lakhs, Telangana (10 district) 0.81 lakhs.
92) Andhra controlled media never highlighted migration of 15 lakh people out of 24lakh population from Mahabubnagar due to draught conditions. T. Anjaiah CM of AP from Telangana region was presented as a buffoon in dailies and cartoons.
93) At the time of merger Andhra leaders persuaded Telangana leaders by offering many safeguards against exploitation. They also passed a Unanimous Resolution’ in November 1955 in Andhra Assembly in support of safeguards and subsequently they put these safeguards in an Agreement on 20th February. 1956 which is known as “Gentlemen’s Agreement”. All are trashed soon after the agreement is signed.
94) Proportional representation says Telangana should get 42% jobs in the Secretariat, but only 9% are working now. How can a people representative, MLA, MLC can get a work done if 91% do not help ?
95) Metro Rail project is being designed dilapidating 5000 shops, 2500 houses,147 schools, 120 hospitals, 60 Temples/Masjid/Churches. Historical monuments will disappear. All shops and complexes throughout Metro rail route are with Seemandhra thugs.
96) 1947 India got Independence. 1948 Indian Army did police action to dethrone Nizam. Hyd state existed from 1949 to 1956. Telangana merged with Andhra against its wishes in1956. Telangana has nothing to do with Potti Sriramulu.
97) Telangana Sayudha Poratam, (Telangana armed struggle) was against Nizam facist rule, 4000 people died - inspired all subsequent land movements in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura and paved way for formation of Communist governments in those States. This is never acknowledged by Seemandhra rulers so far.
98) Despite 69% Krishna, 79% Godavari flows through Telangana, irrigation cost is Rs.1500/acre. 13% of Krishna, 21% Godavari flows through Andhra irrigation cost is Rs.150/acre.
99) Per capita income of Madhya Pradesh: Rs 18,051. Chattisgarh formed in 2000. Per capita income of Chhattisgarh in 2008-09 - Rs. 29,621. Recently formed smaller states are catching up with Haryana is 71%, Himachal is 81% and Uttarakhand is 75% - now Jharkhand 58%, Chhattisgarh 63%. Also, Infant mortality UP 67%, Uttarakhand 44%.
100) year 2008 Targeted growth rate & achieved: bigger states: MP 7% - 4.3%; UP 7.6% - 4.6%; Bihar 6.2% 4.7% smaller states: Chhattisgarh 6.1% - 9.2%; Jharkhand 6.9% - 11.1% Uttaranchal 6.8% - 8.8%
101) Since 1956 to date, the additional irrigation potential created in Telangana is only 5%
102) There are 10,000+ Industrial units in Telangana, 1200 are owned by Telanganites, 6500 are owned by Seemandhra, rest are by outsiders.
103) Proportionally Telangana should be given about 43% in budget allocation, Since 1953, it never exceeded 30%. Yet Telangana contributes 42% of revenue to the state exchequer.
104) Nizamsagar was built in 1931 to serve Nizamabad and Medak about 2.7 lakh acres of land. It was neglected for maintenance and improvements, now satellite images prove that all its 83 tributaries, 243 distributaries have been silted up and eroded. World bank sanctioned 30 crores for the project, which was never spent. The project now going to be almost useless.
105) In Andhra region every year two crops are cultivated because of water availability, in Telangana a single crop will be cultivated with great difficulty.
106) Technical institutions wise, 26 are in Telangana, 54 are in Andhra. 20 polytechnics in Telangana, 70 in Andhra. 2 Medical colleges in Telangana, 6 in Andhra.
107) British build Railways, Administrative Services, Post and Telegraph, installed democratic institutions, judiciary, rule of law, and built the cities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, and New Delhi. British did not claim any of these when they had to leave India. Seemandhra are making big hue and cry clamoring for Hyderabad claiming they have built the city. In 400 yrs of Hyderabad history, how many years did they contribute the 'development' ?
108) Hyderabad - demographic expansion can never be considered as a development. It’s natural growth. It is like a girl who is 10 yrs now will attain 15yrs of age after 5 yrs – can we call it development ? Also, its not just Hyd which is developed … all big/medium cities in India are in development path.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
telangana songs download
to download telangana songs :
bandenka bandi katti....
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1208/BandenakaBandiKatti.mp3
veerulara vandanam...
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1185/Joharlu.mp3
jaya jaya he telangaana....
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1177/JayaJayaHe.mp3
poru daarenta potunde yelamandaa
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1204/elamanda.mp3
chukka neeru leni telangaana..
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1182/ChuduTelangana.mp3
bandenka bandi katti....
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1208/BandenakaBandiKatti.mp3
veerulara vandanam...
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1185/Joharlu.mp3
jaya jaya he telangaana....
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1177/JayaJayaHe.mp3
poru daarenta potunde yelamandaa
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1204/elamanda.mp3
chukka neeru leni telangaana..
http://ourtelangana.com/audio/download/1182/ChuduTelangana.mp3
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Telangana students at osmani university for vidyarthi garjana
Thousands of students from various parts of Telangana gathered at the Osmania University here Sunday to demand separate Telangana state with the central government. dozens of folk singers performed on the stage set against the backdrop of the majestic Arts College building.
Tens of thousands of Girls from 10 Telangana dists marched to Osmania .The students occupied every inch of space available in the OU campus and raised Jai Telangana slogans. It was a sea of humanity everywhere in the campus. Though there were no political party representatives and no organisational mechanisms, the JAC student leaders made arrangements for themselves
A sea of students swarmed the Osmania University, despite severe restrictions by the police and paramilitary forces all over the region, to participate in the Telangana Vidyarthi Garjana on Sunday . The police were themselves shocked to see such a huge turnout despite the restrictions put on their movements.
Girls who turned up for Telangana Vidyarthi Garjana at Osmania cheering the balladeers . Despite strong restictions levied by police and para military an rough estimate of 2 lakhs students turned up another 1 lakh students were stopped on their way to Osmania Univ.
Few highlights of this students roar are:
1. Chandrababu Naidu has conducted the secret meet of Coastal Andhra investors and YS Jagan has conducted the meet of Rayalaseema investors to stop the movement of Telangana.
2. Students promised not to write any kind of exams till Telangana is declared.
3. Lok Satta and TDP Chandrababu Naidu must change their attitude towards Telangana.
4. MIM, CPI and PRP should come with students and help formation of Telangana.
5. State and Central Governments would be sent to burial ground if Jan 5 talks fail.
6. Osmania University is the land of martyrs and Telangana movement has taken birth not from Politicians but from students.
7. Bury the party offices of TDP, Congress and Lok satta if they are against Telangana.
8. All those students (Amaraveerulu) who lost lives in this Telangana movement should be given Rs.10lakh each and a Govt. job to one of their family members.
9. Roshaiah Gochi Oodaali and Seemandhra leaders Khabaddaar if any word uttered against Telangana.
10. Hyderabad is a part of Telangana state and no one can tear it apart.
11. Police are trying to obstruct huge turn out students from 10 districts of Telangana in the outskirts of Hyderabad.
1. Chandrababu Naidu has conducted the secret meet of Coastal Andhra investors and YS Jagan has conducted the meet of Rayalaseema investors to stop the movement of Telangana.
2. Students promised not to write any kind of exams till Telangana is declared.
3. Lok Satta and TDP Chandrababu Naidu must change their attitude towards Telangana.
4. MIM, CPI and PRP should come with students and help formation of Telangana.
5. State and Central Governments would be sent to burial ground if Jan 5 talks fail.
6. Osmania University is the land of martyrs and Telangana movement has taken birth not from Politicians but from students.
7. Bury the party offices of TDP, Congress and Lok satta if they are against Telangana.
8. All those students (Amaraveerulu) who lost lives in this Telangana movement should be given Rs.10lakh each and a Govt. job to one of their family members.
9. Roshaiah Gochi Oodaali and Seemandhra leaders Khabaddaar if any word uttered against Telangana.
10. Hyderabad is a part of Telangana state and no one can tear it apart.
11. Police are trying to obstruct huge turn out students from 10 districts of Telangana in the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Why Telangana ? Pls Know the Facts...
1. There are 10 districts in Telangana, 9 in Andhra and 4 in Rayalaseema. Out of these 7 districts in Telangana, 3 in Andhra and 1 in Rayalaseema are considered severely backward districts which means 70% of districts in Telangana are backward while in Andhra it is 35% and in Rayalaseema it is 25%. Apart from these there are some areas in all parts of the state which are also backward.
2. 45% of the state income comes from Telangana region. When it comes to utilization of funds, the share of Telangana is only 28%.
3. Normally canals are dug to supply water to the crops from rivers for cultivation. The amount of land cultivated through canals in just Guntur district is more than the land cultivated with canals in entire Telangana region.
4. Nagarjuna sagar dam is built in Nalgonda district which is in Telangana but majority of the water from the dam is used for Krishna and Guntur district. The original dam was supposed to be build much ahead of its present location but the location was changed so that it falls in the Telangana region. Due to the construction of the dam several hectares of Lime stone mines vanished as part of the dam back waters. Everyone know that lime stone is used for producing cement. Even the natural resources were not allowed to remain.
5. Fluorinated water problem is only in Nalgonda district which has not been resolved since decades.
6. Two major rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra enter the state of AP in the district of Mahaboobnagar(the biggest district in Telangana) but the district always remains the worst draught hit areas along with Anantapur because there is no project and process with which the water can be utilized. The plans for utilization has been pending for decades.
7. RDS (Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme) is build in Mahaboobnagar to provide water to 85000 hectares of land in the district. The leaders of Rayalaseems blasted the gates of RDS and water is supplied to KC (Kurnool-Cudapah) canal while only remaining water, if any, is supplied to the lands in Mahaboobnagar.
8. 3 TMC of water from Gandipet is sufficient to supply drinking water to our city. Every year 1700 TMC of water is wasted and is flown into Bay of Bengal from river Godavari. Starting from Nizambad to Bay of Bengal there is no project allowed to build on Godavari. If it is built leaders in Godavari districts fear that the fertile lands in the area may fall short of water. If the Godavari water is utilized properly, there will be no scarcity for food grains in our state.
9. In Telangana regions, only few areas cultivate one crop a year and very rarely two crops a year while most of the land doesn’t even cultivate single crop. In both the Godavari districts, Krishna and Guntur district, two crops a year is common and there are times where even 3 crops a year are cultivated. The only reason is WATER.
10. Government issue G.O.’s for implicating its decisions. G.O number 610 is the longest non implicated G.O in the history of AP. The G.O was issued in 1986 by late NTR who was then the CM of AP, which is not yet implicated. The G.O speaks about the share of Telangana employees in Government jobs in Telangana region.
11. 33% of the population in Mahaboobnagar district have left the district for livelihood to different parts of the state due to draught and majority of them are working as daily labour. No other district has so many people who fled the home place due to lack of livelihood and working as daily labour.
12. There are 25 plus government degree colleges in Krishna, Kadapa and Guntur district while there is not even a single government degree college in Ranga Reddy district.
13. Dairy development corporation of AP purchases milk from farmers across the state for distribution. For the same milk, in Andhra, the government pay Rs. 24 to the farmers and in Telangana they pay Rs. 22 per litre. Partiality is shown even in milk ..
14. In between 2005-2008 government sold lands worth Rs. 20000 crores in and around Hyderabad which was utilized to build projects in Rayalaseema and Andhra.
15. Not even a single project was completed in Telangana in the last 5 years while several projects were completed in Andhra and Rayalaseema.
please reply your opinions...........
2. 45% of the state income comes from Telangana region. When it comes to utilization of funds, the share of Telangana is only 28%.
3. Normally canals are dug to supply water to the crops from rivers for cultivation. The amount of land cultivated through canals in just Guntur district is more than the land cultivated with canals in entire Telangana region.
4. Nagarjuna sagar dam is built in Nalgonda district which is in Telangana but majority of the water from the dam is used for Krishna and Guntur district. The original dam was supposed to be build much ahead of its present location but the location was changed so that it falls in the Telangana region. Due to the construction of the dam several hectares of Lime stone mines vanished as part of the dam back waters. Everyone know that lime stone is used for producing cement. Even the natural resources were not allowed to remain.
5. Fluorinated water problem is only in Nalgonda district which has not been resolved since decades.
6. Two major rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra enter the state of AP in the district of Mahaboobnagar(the biggest district in Telangana) but the district always remains the worst draught hit areas along with Anantapur because there is no project and process with which the water can be utilized. The plans for utilization has been pending for decades.
7. RDS (Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme) is build in Mahaboobnagar to provide water to 85000 hectares of land in the district. The leaders of Rayalaseems blasted the gates of RDS and water is supplied to KC (Kurnool-Cudapah) canal while only remaining water, if any, is supplied to the lands in Mahaboobnagar.
8. 3 TMC of water from Gandipet is sufficient to supply drinking water to our city. Every year 1700 TMC of water is wasted and is flown into Bay of Bengal from river Godavari. Starting from Nizambad to Bay of Bengal there is no project allowed to build on Godavari. If it is built leaders in Godavari districts fear that the fertile lands in the area may fall short of water. If the Godavari water is utilized properly, there will be no scarcity for food grains in our state.
9. In Telangana regions, only few areas cultivate one crop a year and very rarely two crops a year while most of the land doesn’t even cultivate single crop. In both the Godavari districts, Krishna and Guntur district, two crops a year is common and there are times where even 3 crops a year are cultivated. The only reason is WATER.
10. Government issue G.O.’s for implicating its decisions. G.O number 610 is the longest non implicated G.O in the history of AP. The G.O was issued in 1986 by late NTR who was then the CM of AP, which is not yet implicated. The G.O speaks about the share of Telangana employees in Government jobs in Telangana region.
11. 33% of the population in Mahaboobnagar district have left the district for livelihood to different parts of the state due to draught and majority of them are working as daily labour. No other district has so many people who fled the home place due to lack of livelihood and working as daily labour.
12. There are 25 plus government degree colleges in Krishna, Kadapa and Guntur district while there is not even a single government degree college in Ranga Reddy district.
13. Dairy development corporation of AP purchases milk from farmers across the state for distribution. For the same milk, in Andhra, the government pay Rs. 24 to the farmers and in Telangana they pay Rs. 22 per litre. Partiality is shown even in milk ..
14. In between 2005-2008 government sold lands worth Rs. 20000 crores in and around Hyderabad which was utilized to build projects in Rayalaseema and Andhra.
15. Not even a single project was completed in Telangana in the last 5 years while several projects were completed in Andhra and Rayalaseema.
please reply your opinions...........
story of Telangana
Telangana region is part of Andhra Pradesh state in southern India. It constitutes Hyderabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahaboobnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, RangaReddy and Warangal districts. Telangana region is one of the least developed regions in India. Rampant poverty, illiteracy, malnourished children, child labor, farmer suicides, unemployment, water scarcity and electricity shortage are some of the problems of this region. There are millions of people who are not fortunate enough to send their children to schools or feed their children three time a day, or provide safe drinking water to their families in this area.
History of Telangana (english)
why we need telangana
Who developed Hyderabad
Harish rao excellent speech in assembly
What Jawahar Lal Nehru told while merging Telangana with Andhra
Telangana Dhoom-Dhaam, an inspiring cultural event by Balakishan
Telangana Issues - Prof Jaya Shankar
Telangana Issues - Prof Jaya Shankar part-1
Telangana Issues - Prof Jaya Shankar part-2
Telangana Issues - Prof Jaya Shankar part-3
Telangana Issues - Prof Jaya Shankar part-4
Telangana Issues - Prof Jaya Shankar part-5
Telangana vidyardhi Ranabheri at Nijam college Grounds
Telangana vidyardhi Ranabheri at Nijam college Grounds
HYDERABAD: THEN AND NOW : R.Ram Mohan Rao , V. Satyanarayan Reddy , N.Ram Kishan Rao
In the modern day world, cities are considered to be the harbingers of change and development. Urban development and economic prosperity are highly correlated. Cities are the centres of power—economic, political and social in our society. They are where the actions are in terms of development, economic prosperity and social change. This paper seeks to attempt a qualitative evaluation of the role of growth of Hyderabad City in effecting a change in the life of the people in the aftermath of the formation of Andhra Pradesh State in the year 1956.
Like all cities elsewhere, Hyderabad City has also experienced growth in terms of population and space. Growth of a city need not necessarily lead to development, whether it is economic or social. It needs to be stressed here that all that grows need not necessarily benefit the people. To make an analogy, growth of a city without concurrent development of the local people may be compared to growth of weeds in an agricultural field. Growth of the city turns futile, if city's growth is not planned properly, the target group of beneficiaries of development is not identified in a precise manner and the development of the local inhabitants is not envisaged. Growth is not always synonymous with development of the people. An overgrown city may better be compared with an obese man who has put on lot | of weight and is not able to carry his own weight.
It is also necessary to distinguish between development of the place with the 1 development of the people inhabiting that place. Development of place need not necessarily lead to development of people living there. Even if we assume that place development leads to people's development, there exists every possibility that the benefits of development of place may not trickle down to the target group of people; instead they may be diverted to other groups. Whenever we think of development, the question that strikes us is, development for whom.
Even if we assume that growth is a desirable phenomenon, the growth of Hyderabad is certainly not disproportionately high or remarkable. Hyderabad City has been growing both in terms of space and people like any other city of its type. There is nothing phenomenal or special about it. The argument often mentioned in some quarters, that Hyderabad has experienced exceptional growth after the formation of a larger state does not hold water as can be deduced from the following table. It has to be emphasized here that the city of Hyderabad would have experienced as much growth it had done so far, even if it had not been made the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
City Index of Population Growth 1950=100
Hyderabad
Bombay
Delhi
Bangalore
Visakhapatnam
Ahmedabad
Pune
379
424
583
520
974
376
408
Another fallacy, which needs to be refuted and challenged, is that the city is becoming more primate after being made the capital of a larger state and the primacy is steadily increasing. What is implied in this fallacious statement is that the city is growing at the cost of other cities in the state. This is simply not true. There is a definite decline in the primacy of Hyderabad city.
In the year 1951, before the formation of a larger state, the city's population was 10 times that of the second largest city in the state. The primacy declined by the year 1971 and in the year 1991 the city's primacy was reduced by half. The present indications are that it may decline progressively in future, since, Visakhapatnam is fast emerging as a counter metropolis in it's own way. In reality, Visakhapatnam is the fastest growing million cities in Asia according to Census of India Organization.
The proportion of basic economic activities generally quantifies a city's economic strength. Basic economic activities i nclude such activities like manufacturing with markets outside the city, trade with other major cities, city building and money generating activities. As opposed to non-basic activities, basic economic activities bring in money and capital to the city. Hyderabad's economic base, which was on solid foundation before 1956, has taken a nose-dive after the formation of the new state. Its economic strength weakened considerably as a result of increase in non-basic employment in such sectors as services, local trade etc. and decrease in basic activities. It is worthwhile to note that no new large employment-providing industries came up during the last thirty years. The few-industries which were established by the Central Government in the fifties, have become sick and are on the verge of closure. It is not impertinent to mention in this context that the large number of migrants from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have only sucked the city's resources without contributing to it's strength in any manner. In other words, the city did not gain anything from the migration of people; instead, it lost considerably.
As regard to development of infrastructure, less said the better. Population of the city more than trebled after the formation of the new state. Have the basic infrastructure facilities gone up in the same proportion? Have any new arterial roads come up? Has any mass rapid transportation system been given any concrete shape? The answer to all these questions is a certain no. Instead, the preexisting excellent infrastructure of the pre- Andhra Pradesh era was squeezed to the fullest extent possible. The N.S.R. provided very convenient and efficient public transportation facilities prior to 1956. It was considered to be the best in the country next only to B.E.S.T.
The much-talked about Light Railway System is still to take-off. We are not sure about the materialization of such a project. Of course, it is another matter to evaluate the usefulness of such a project in easing the fast deteriorating transportation situation in the city. The planned construction of a number fly-overs may ease the problem of transportation for only a microscopic minority of city's population- for the rich who move in cars. But for others- the masses, commuting to work will continue to be a nightmare. It would be revealing to analyze the locations of these fly-overs. They are meant to benefit certain privileged sections of the urban community.
Hyderabad, after becoming the capital of Andhra Pradesh, certainly underwent transformation. But this transformation was not in the direction of progress and social and economic equity. Rather, it brought in its wake, inequity, urban decay and degeneration. Vast tracts of the Old City which were once economically thriving and socially developed, have been turned into worst examples of urban congestion and urban blight. The authorities only 'talk' of urban renewal and urban rejuvenation. No concrete action was initiated in this direction. Such publicity seeking and eye washing efforts and actions like setting up of a separate development authority - Quli Qutb Shah Development Authority will in no way mitigate the sufferings of the inhabitants of the so-called old city. No development authority will be able to bring in any noticeable change if it is not empowered sufficiently and provided with necessary financial resources. In the absence of such an action, no worthwhile and result oriented action plans for the gentrification and rejuvenation of the old city can be drawn up, leave alone implemented. Piece-meal approach will in no way bring in visible changes.
It saddens the Hyderabadis to see how once their beautiful city which boasted of country's one of the first underground drainage system, is now a city of clogged arterial roads with grossly inadequate basic civic amenities and facilities. Where are those landscaped parks and gardens and tree-lined avenues, which gave Distinct identity to the city? What has happened to a number of lakes and tanks that dotted all over the city? Where are the fountains and similar urban features? They have all disappeared after Hyderabad became the capital of A.P. This is the price that the people have paid for "growth".
It is true that a number of industrial estates and units have come up on peripheries of the city. Most of these units have been turned into sick units. The few which still make money, in no way contribute to the prosperity of the city. A tour of industrial estates in the north, north -east and eastern parts would reveal a lot, and furnish answers to the following questions. Who are the owners of these industrial establishments? What is the composition of employees in these units? Whom do these industries benefit? When a migrant establishes an industry or any other venture in the city, he staffs the entire work force with fellow migrants-right from watchman to the Managing Director. In such a scenario, where are opportunities for the local people to get jobs. The strong kinship feeling amongst migrants also prevent them from employing the locals. The question that naturally arises in our minds is about the utility and usefulness of the above described pattern of industrialization and urbanization. If the new industries and other urban economic establishments cannot provide jobs to the inhabitants of the city, what is the purpose and aim of this process? Should we infer that the purpose of Hyderabad's urbanization is to provide a ready-made base and platform with all the necessary infrastructural facilities to the migrants to reap immediate benefits that can be had only in a metropolitan city of the size of Hyderabad?
Now, let us take a look at the pattern of development of residential colonies in the city and its peripheries. Most of the new residential development took place in the eastern, northern and north - western parts. The development in the south, which has always been the place of habitation of the local populace, has been very insignificant. The emergence of the new residential colonies put an enormous pressure on the civic amenities. In reality, the civic facilities which were planned to meet the needs of the local population of the city have been stretched to the point of breaking to meet the requirements of dwellers of these newly emerged residential colonies. It is not out of context to mention that an overwhelming proportion of these are migrants. The picture that emerges is that the original inhabitants of the city continue to live in squalor and decay; the migrants live in relative luxury in newly-built residential neighbourhoods appropriating the infrastructural facilities that were meant for the local people.
One of the traits of a metropolitan city like Hyderabad is the cosmopolitan nature of its population. A metropolis provides shelter to the people of diverse regions, languages and other cultural phenomena. Hyderabad was a cosmopolitan city in many respects till 1956. People from different parts of India- Kayasthas from Uttar Pradesh, Tamils employed in railways, Marwaris from Rajasthan and of course the Maharashtrians and Kannadigas from the neighboring states of Bombay and Mysore lived there. There was also a sprinkling of Andhra migrants, mostly in the lower rungs of administration. The population comprised people belonging to various faiths and religious denominations. There existed a high degree of tolerance and respect for one another. Communal troubles were almost non-existent till a few years before the formation of the linguistic state. Urdu was the medium of communication amongst the people outside their homes. Almost the entire populace could speak at least two languages. However, the process of erosion of cosmopolitan nature of the city began in right earnest immediately after the establishment of new state. A highly tolerant city with a multi-lingual and multi-religious population was transformed into an almost monolingual, conservative and communal disturbances prone city in the course of forty years after reorganization. Why has this happened? The answer for this question is not difficult to fathom. There was a deluge of migrants from Andhra, most of them could speak only one language and were hitherto not exposed to cosmopolitanism. Holding the reins of political power helped this segment of population to impose an alien dialect and life styles in an alien city in the garb of promoting Telugu culture. But, the Telugu language and cultural forms were drastically different from those of the local Telugu population. An indication of the cultural invasion is the erection of statues of Telugu people in the city. The fact that the local people cannot even pronounce the names of these people, leave alone know who these people are. What purpose did this process of imposition of cultural forms serve? This amounts to cultural imperialism.
Like all cities elsewhere, Hyderabad City has also experienced growth in terms of population and space. Growth of a city need not necessarily lead to development, whether it is economic or social. It needs to be stressed here that all that grows need not necessarily benefit the people. To make an analogy, growth of a city without concurrent development of the local people may be compared to growth of weeds in an agricultural field. Growth of the city turns futile, if city's growth is not planned properly, the target group of beneficiaries of development is not identified in a precise manner and the development of the local inhabitants is not envisaged. Growth is not always synonymous with development of the people. An overgrown city may better be compared with an obese man who has put on lot | of weight and is not able to carry his own weight.
It is also necessary to distinguish between development of the place with the 1 development of the people inhabiting that place. Development of place need not necessarily lead to development of people living there. Even if we assume that place development leads to people's development, there exists every possibility that the benefits of development of place may not trickle down to the target group of people; instead they may be diverted to other groups. Whenever we think of development, the question that strikes us is, development for whom.
Even if we assume that growth is a desirable phenomenon, the growth of Hyderabad is certainly not disproportionately high or remarkable. Hyderabad City has been growing both in terms of space and people like any other city of its type. There is nothing phenomenal or special about it. The argument often mentioned in some quarters, that Hyderabad has experienced exceptional growth after the formation of a larger state does not hold water as can be deduced from the following table. It has to be emphasized here that the city of Hyderabad would have experienced as much growth it had done so far, even if it had not been made the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
City Index of Population Growth 1950=100
Hyderabad
Bombay
Delhi
Bangalore
Visakhapatnam
Ahmedabad
Pune
379
424
583
520
974
376
408
Another fallacy, which needs to be refuted and challenged, is that the city is becoming more primate after being made the capital of a larger state and the primacy is steadily increasing. What is implied in this fallacious statement is that the city is growing at the cost of other cities in the state. This is simply not true. There is a definite decline in the primacy of Hyderabad city.
In the year 1951, before the formation of a larger state, the city's population was 10 times that of the second largest city in the state. The primacy declined by the year 1971 and in the year 1991 the city's primacy was reduced by half. The present indications are that it may decline progressively in future, since, Visakhapatnam is fast emerging as a counter metropolis in it's own way. In reality, Visakhapatnam is the fastest growing million cities in Asia according to Census of India Organization.
The proportion of basic economic activities generally quantifies a city's economic strength. Basic economic activities i nclude such activities like manufacturing with markets outside the city, trade with other major cities, city building and money generating activities. As opposed to non-basic activities, basic economic activities bring in money and capital to the city. Hyderabad's economic base, which was on solid foundation before 1956, has taken a nose-dive after the formation of the new state. Its economic strength weakened considerably as a result of increase in non-basic employment in such sectors as services, local trade etc. and decrease in basic activities. It is worthwhile to note that no new large employment-providing industries came up during the last thirty years. The few-industries which were established by the Central Government in the fifties, have become sick and are on the verge of closure. It is not impertinent to mention in this context that the large number of migrants from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have only sucked the city's resources without contributing to it's strength in any manner. In other words, the city did not gain anything from the migration of people; instead, it lost considerably.
As regard to development of infrastructure, less said the better. Population of the city more than trebled after the formation of the new state. Have the basic infrastructure facilities gone up in the same proportion? Have any new arterial roads come up? Has any mass rapid transportation system been given any concrete shape? The answer to all these questions is a certain no. Instead, the preexisting excellent infrastructure of the pre- Andhra Pradesh era was squeezed to the fullest extent possible. The N.S.R. provided very convenient and efficient public transportation facilities prior to 1956. It was considered to be the best in the country next only to B.E.S.T.
The much-talked about Light Railway System is still to take-off. We are not sure about the materialization of such a project. Of course, it is another matter to evaluate the usefulness of such a project in easing the fast deteriorating transportation situation in the city. The planned construction of a number fly-overs may ease the problem of transportation for only a microscopic minority of city's population- for the rich who move in cars. But for others- the masses, commuting to work will continue to be a nightmare. It would be revealing to analyze the locations of these fly-overs. They are meant to benefit certain privileged sections of the urban community.
Hyderabad, after becoming the capital of Andhra Pradesh, certainly underwent transformation. But this transformation was not in the direction of progress and social and economic equity. Rather, it brought in its wake, inequity, urban decay and degeneration. Vast tracts of the Old City which were once economically thriving and socially developed, have been turned into worst examples of urban congestion and urban blight. The authorities only 'talk' of urban renewal and urban rejuvenation. No concrete action was initiated in this direction. Such publicity seeking and eye washing efforts and actions like setting up of a separate development authority - Quli Qutb Shah Development Authority will in no way mitigate the sufferings of the inhabitants of the so-called old city. No development authority will be able to bring in any noticeable change if it is not empowered sufficiently and provided with necessary financial resources. In the absence of such an action, no worthwhile and result oriented action plans for the gentrification and rejuvenation of the old city can be drawn up, leave alone implemented. Piece-meal approach will in no way bring in visible changes.
It saddens the Hyderabadis to see how once their beautiful city which boasted of country's one of the first underground drainage system, is now a city of clogged arterial roads with grossly inadequate basic civic amenities and facilities. Where are those landscaped parks and gardens and tree-lined avenues, which gave Distinct identity to the city? What has happened to a number of lakes and tanks that dotted all over the city? Where are the fountains and similar urban features? They have all disappeared after Hyderabad became the capital of A.P. This is the price that the people have paid for "growth".
It is true that a number of industrial estates and units have come up on peripheries of the city. Most of these units have been turned into sick units. The few which still make money, in no way contribute to the prosperity of the city. A tour of industrial estates in the north, north -east and eastern parts would reveal a lot, and furnish answers to the following questions. Who are the owners of these industrial establishments? What is the composition of employees in these units? Whom do these industries benefit? When a migrant establishes an industry or any other venture in the city, he staffs the entire work force with fellow migrants-right from watchman to the Managing Director. In such a scenario, where are opportunities for the local people to get jobs. The strong kinship feeling amongst migrants also prevent them from employing the locals. The question that naturally arises in our minds is about the utility and usefulness of the above described pattern of industrialization and urbanization. If the new industries and other urban economic establishments cannot provide jobs to the inhabitants of the city, what is the purpose and aim of this process? Should we infer that the purpose of Hyderabad's urbanization is to provide a ready-made base and platform with all the necessary infrastructural facilities to the migrants to reap immediate benefits that can be had only in a metropolitan city of the size of Hyderabad?
Now, let us take a look at the pattern of development of residential colonies in the city and its peripheries. Most of the new residential development took place in the eastern, northern and north - western parts. The development in the south, which has always been the place of habitation of the local populace, has been very insignificant. The emergence of the new residential colonies put an enormous pressure on the civic amenities. In reality, the civic facilities which were planned to meet the needs of the local population of the city have been stretched to the point of breaking to meet the requirements of dwellers of these newly emerged residential colonies. It is not out of context to mention that an overwhelming proportion of these are migrants. The picture that emerges is that the original inhabitants of the city continue to live in squalor and decay; the migrants live in relative luxury in newly-built residential neighbourhoods appropriating the infrastructural facilities that were meant for the local people.
One of the traits of a metropolitan city like Hyderabad is the cosmopolitan nature of its population. A metropolis provides shelter to the people of diverse regions, languages and other cultural phenomena. Hyderabad was a cosmopolitan city in many respects till 1956. People from different parts of India- Kayasthas from Uttar Pradesh, Tamils employed in railways, Marwaris from Rajasthan and of course the Maharashtrians and Kannadigas from the neighboring states of Bombay and Mysore lived there. There was also a sprinkling of Andhra migrants, mostly in the lower rungs of administration. The population comprised people belonging to various faiths and religious denominations. There existed a high degree of tolerance and respect for one another. Communal troubles were almost non-existent till a few years before the formation of the linguistic state. Urdu was the medium of communication amongst the people outside their homes. Almost the entire populace could speak at least two languages. However, the process of erosion of cosmopolitan nature of the city began in right earnest immediately after the establishment of new state. A highly tolerant city with a multi-lingual and multi-religious population was transformed into an almost monolingual, conservative and communal disturbances prone city in the course of forty years after reorganization. Why has this happened? The answer for this question is not difficult to fathom. There was a deluge of migrants from Andhra, most of them could speak only one language and were hitherto not exposed to cosmopolitanism. Holding the reins of political power helped this segment of population to impose an alien dialect and life styles in an alien city in the garb of promoting Telugu culture. But, the Telugu language and cultural forms were drastically different from those of the local Telugu population. An indication of the cultural invasion is the erection of statues of Telugu people in the city. The fact that the local people cannot even pronounce the names of these people, leave alone know who these people are. What purpose did this process of imposition of cultural forms serve? This amounts to cultural imperialism.
TELANGANA: A TALE OF UNMITIGATED MISERY : P.L. Vishweshwer Rao
The spectre of drought is a constant feature in Telangana especially. since no attempts have been made to fight it on a long term basis with the implementation of permanent anti-drought measures. The problem is made worse as irrigation is underdeveloped, there has been no industrialization nor has any skill development taken place in the region. The result is that a majority of the people, the poor and the landless are at the mercy of nature. Only a copious monsoon can assure them of at least three months of wages. Or else, they leave their hearths and homes and migrate to distant cities in search of livelihood.
Figures vary on the number of people migrating from the drought prone districts of Telangana: the more severe the problem the greater is the exodus from almost all areas of the state to the nearest urban conglomeration: from the North Telangana to Maharashtra from South to Hyderabad, and from West to Karnataka. According to estimates, during any year, the poorest and the driest district of Mahabubnagar sees the exodus of five lakh labourers, well-known throughout India for their hard work. Better known as "Palamur labour”, they have worked in every major project construction in India and yet they have remained half-fed, half-clothed, forced to live the life of nomads, going back to their native village not only to return to the old people they had left behind but to their soil to which they belong; A soil that remains dry most of the year, which does not provide them sustenance and yet to which they return year after year, season after agricultural season, with hope. According to estimates, as many as 12 lakh people have migrated out of Mahabubnagar in 1997 as monsoon failed.
Though the Indian Meteorological Department predicted an optimistic monsoon this year for the country, as far as Andhra Pradesh is concerned, the conditions are precarious. The onset of monsoon itself was delayed and even after onset, there were no widespread rains and drought conditions prevailed till the end of June. Only during the first week of July, there were rains, although the quantum received was low. Again, drought conditions prevailed during second and third weeks of July, rendering most of the rain fed crops unsown. There were long dry spells ranging from 15 to 18 days in almost all the agro-climatic zones of the State, which stunt crop and drastically reduce its growth.
The South-West monsoon normally sets in the first week of June in the State. But the monsoon in 1997 set in on June 12 and it was well below normal. The most affected region was Telangana with 45 per cent rainfall deficiency while overall deficiency for the State worked out to 38 per cent. The deficit in Coastal Andhra was 34 percent and in Rayalaseema 36 per cent.
The region-wise assessment of rainfall shows that North Telangana received 290 mm rainfall as against a normal of 472 mm as on August 6, 1997, a deficit of 39 percent. South Telangana was the most affected receiving only 201.5 mm rainfall as against a normal of 350 mm, which was a deficit of 42 per cent. The deficit in North Coastal Andhra was 32 per cent, in South Coastal 37 percent, and in Rayalaseema 36 per cent.
Up to August 27, the State as a whole received 275 mm of rainfall against 441 mm of normal, a deficit of 38 per cent of normal. The districts of North Telangana received a deficit of 44 per cent. This region received 356 mm rainfall as against normal of 641 mm. South Telangana received 247 mm as against the normal of 459 mm with a deficit of 46 per cent. The region-wise split-up reveals that north coastal Andhra received 381 mm as against 488 mm of normal, a deficit of22 per cent. Similarly, South Coastal Andhra also received a rainfall of 190 mm as against the normal of 318 mm the deficit being 40 per cent (Table I). Rayalaseema region which receives a normal rainfall of 233 mm has received only 160 mm recording a deficit of 31 per cent. Revival of the south west monsoon rains in mid-September did not do much to undo the damage since the crop was a total failure and could not be retrieved. To some extent the late rains filled up the water sources and recharged the groundwater but that was not enough.
The rain deficit in comparison to the normal annual rainfall showed that Telangana's deficit was the highest with 45 per cent. The rain deficit in coastal Andhra districts was 30 per cent and in Rayalaseema 31 per cent, according to official estimates put out by the office of the Relief Commissioner. The rainfall deficit district-wise showed the deficit in Telangana districts ranged from 31 per cent in Khammam to 58 per cent in Mahabubnagar which was the worst affected (Table 2).
While the Union Agriculture Minister Chaturanan Mishra was taken on a whirlwind tour of the drought-affected areas in Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Rangareddy districts in the first week of September, the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu assured the people that there won't be any problems in the Krishna and Godavari delta regions but the upland areas would need attention. He did not utter a Word on the trauma being undergone by the people in Telangana. He undertook an aerial tour of Karimmigar in the second week of September and said that the state was in the grip of "severe drought". It was not until September 13 when he announced that 755 mandals out of 1,110 mandals in the state that Naidu spoke of the drought situation in Telangana.
An analysis of the government's figures on the number of mandals affected by drought as determined by the new norms laid down by the revised drought manual shows that 84.5 per cent of mandals in Rayalaseema were drought-hit; 76 per cent in Telangana and 59 per cent in coastal Andhra (Srikakulam district not included as the statistics were not available) (Table 3 and 4).
The government admitted that about 250 mandals were reeling under severe drought conditions with a majority of them being in Telangana but the government did not declare the areas drought-hit which would automatically devolve several benefit to the affected people in terms of employment, subsidized food grains and odder, postponement of loan and tax collections.
According to official figures, about 755 mandals out of 1110 in the state faced severe drought conditions. Six out of23 districts have received less than 50 per cent of the normal rainfall. In others, rainfall varies between 40-60 per cent but in view of the late onset of monsoon this year, the damage to crops even in districts which received normal rainfall is expected to be considerable in view of long spells of dry weather after the start of agricultural operations in the wake of monsoon rains.
Initial reports of the situation in the entire state said that against 8.16 lakh hectares of area under paddy during the previous kharif season, only 6.20 lakh hectares could be brought under the crop in 1997 kharif. In most of the areas, transplantations were delayed. Under dry crops, only 28.85 lakh hectares were sown this season, as against 47.34 lakh hectares during the previous season. According to Official statistics, agricultural production in the state is likely to come down by 25 per cent on account of adverse seasonal conditions. Paddy transplantation was completed only in 9.30 lakh hectares of land as against 28 lakh hectares. The average was 36 per cent of the normal area for paddy, 65 per cent for pulses, 50 per cent for dry crops and 36 per cent for oilseeds. Groundnut crop was taken up in 6.53 lakh hectares as against the normal area of 11.88 lakh hectares.
According to statistics, the total dry crops coverage in the State stood at 21 lakh hectares as against a normal area of 53 lakh hectares. The corresponding figure of dry crops for 1996 was 37 lakh hectares, which means that an extent 16 lakh hectares was not covered. Most of the dry crops are grown in Telangana Minor irrigation sources such as tanks and wells have dried up due to scanty rainfall and there has been no transplantation of paddy in areas irrigated by minor irrigation sources that which are mostly in Telangana.
While there is quibbling among officials as to when a drought should be declared and what criteria to follow, the most reliable indicators are the pee themselves. Among the people-oriented indicators of drought are: mass migra1 of people, widespread distress sale of cattle, and increased dacoities which attributed to near-famine conditions prevailing leading to unemployment and he the people driven to desperation. Even under normal conditions at least five I agricultural laborers migrate to other areas from the drought-prone Mahabubnagar district which is-the poorest and most backward, during the off-season in search of work. In 1997 it is estimated that 12 lakh persons have migrated.
For a more deeper perspective and the extent of the suffering of the people is necessary to study district-wise the overall picture of the drought.
Mahabubnagar
Mahabubnagar district received only 220 mm rainfall against the normal 432mm up to August end. Almost all crops withered away with 654 irrigation sour received no water. An estimated 5000 bore wells and about 80,000 irrigation WI dried up. Due to shortage of fodder thousands of cattle were sent off to slaughter houses. In certain areas drinking water was available once in five days and Jadcherla town it was supplied once in 10 days. "Drought pensions" were sanctioned to 10,000 persons by the government in the district while scores of villages turned into ghost habitations with all able bodied persons migrating to distant cities with their young ones leaving behind the old who could not travel.
Mahabubnagar district bore the brunt of drought this year, with agricult1 alone reporting crop loss of Rs 400 crores. The district Collector sent several reports on the alarming situation in the district. Against 9.15 lakh hectares of la taken up for cultivation during kharif season, only 4.45 lakh hectares were taken up this year. Out of the cultivated area of 4.45 hectares, crops in 3.75 hectares were damaged due to scanty rainfall. Normally paddy is cultivated in 1.24 lakh hectares in the district, but this time it was cultivated only 38,304hectares,out of which the crop in 26,m hectares got damaged. As against normal area 2.71 hectares, jowar was sown in 1.37 hectares out of which the .crop in 1.27 lakh hectares got damaged. Similarly, castor was grown in 47,087 hectares as against the normal area of 1.37 lakh hectares and the crop in, 38.247 hectares was damaged due to continuing dry spell. Cotton is normally grown in 79,928 hectare, but this time it was sown in only 49,977 hectares.
Not many efforts were made to change the situation of almost continuous drought in Mahabubnagar district. This district receives one of the scantiest rainfall and yet whenever drought situation has arisen some temporary measures are adopted but no long-term programmes implemented to reverse the drought conditions nor efforts were made to mitigate them through the well-known measures such as watershed development, and harnessing rain water run-off. According to a study, the district uses only five per cent of the rain water for irrigation and drinking purposes while the rest flows unutilized into Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers.
Sheer neglect has marked the planning by irrigation department. Several major and medium irrigation projects planned for mitigating the drought conditions have remained on paper. For instance, the Priyadarshini Jurala project, Bhima first and second phases, Nettempadu, Koilsagar, Peddamarur and Kalwakurthy lift irrigation schemes which were expected to irrigate 4.5 lakh hectares apart from providing protected water supply to hundreds of habitations have not been taken up. Successive governments have shown little concern or sympathy with the people of Mahabubnagar.
Medak
Fodder scarcity has become a major problem in Medak as inadequate rains have prevented farmers from growing fodder and barren grasslands have affected cattle and she<,p in this district with one of the highest cattle population.
Warangal
According to experts, drought conditions have been spreading to several non drought areas in Warangal. Failure of rains for the past six years in parts of Warangal has forced fanners to leave their land fallow which is increasing monsoon after failed monsoon. All the 50 mandals in the district were severely affected. The water level in minor irrigation sources like Parkal and Ramappa lakes and Salivagu project is much below the normal with Lakkavaram Lake and Malluruvagu project recording zero level till July 15. Lakkavaram and Parkal lakes have almost dried up with little in flows into them. It is feared that the groundwater resources would be threatened if such dry conditions continue. In agriculture, paddy transplantation was possble in only 15,000 ha as against the normal area of 1.03 lakh ha. Jowar, greengram, groundnut and cotton crops in thousands of hectares of land were affected by the drought.
The Warangal Collector reported that all the 51 mandals in the district were drought-hit. About 46 per cent of shortfall in rain during the South West monsoon had left 56 per cent of the normal sown area to be left fallow causing a crop loss of Rs 276.95 crores. In real terms, two lakh hectares were left fallow out of the normal 3.53 lakh hectares sown. Out of 1.53 lakh hectares sown in 1997 kharif lack of rains had damaged crops over 38,000 hectares. Special arrangement were made to transport fodder from Palampet to Jangaon, the worst affected revenue division in the district.
Nalgonda
The district faced this kind of drought for the first time in 12 years. The most affected district after Mahabubnagar was Nalgonda. With the exception of only two mandals out of 59 in the district all the mandals have been affected by drought. Only five mandals received normal rainfall. More than half of the villages faced severe shortage of drinking water. All tanks dried up, and with the groundwater level receding, more than half of bore wells too dried up. Crops were raised in only half of the total cultivable area and there was acute scarcity of fodder. Milk collection in the district fell by 15 lakh litres daily due to the monsoon failure and fodder scarcity.
Nalgonda threatened to turn into a desert as land cracked for lack of rain, tanks and small irrigation sources dried up, emaciated cattle were drive to Hyderabad's slaughter houses and mass exodus of people began. Newspapers reported that in Mallepally village in the drought-hit Deverakonda Assembly constituency of the district, Mallaiah, a marginal farmer of Peddadisarlapally village was taking home an emaciated cow along with its calf which he bought for a throwaway price of Rs 1800. In normal times this pair would have cost Rs 3600. Many farmers, unable to grow fodder, sold away their bulls and buffaloes for a paltry Rs 1500 or Rs 2000. With even dry crops like bajra, jowar and groundnut not sown, there was no possibility of farmers being left with fodder for their cattle. Local farmers said most of the cattle were being sold to contractors of various slaughter houses in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Although this was a regular phenomenon, the sale of cattle for slaughter was more pronounced due to drought this year. The district's cattle population is 15 lakh but the fodder stock was sufficient for only three lakh heads of cattle.
In 24 out of the 59 mandals in the district, the rainfall was less than 60 per cent in 30 mandals, it was 26 per cent to 30 per cent less in five mandals and 5 per cent less in five mandals. There are 549 small irrigation sources in the district, out of which only 124 tanks received water for irrigation. In the rainfed areas, crops on 7.35 lakh acres are sown in normal years in the district, but only four lakh acres were sown in 1997 due to inadequate rains. With fields drying up in 21 out of 59 mandals there was a drastic fall in paddy cultivation in 1997. Paddy was transplanted in 28,660 hectares of land as against the normal cultivation of 1.39 lakh hectares. Only 19 per cent transplantation could be completed. In the rainfed area, 57 per cent transplantation was completed but with long spells of drought the yield is expected to be low. The Nalgonda district agricultural authorities have estimated that the loss of crop production due to the drought is about 1.23 lakh tonnes valued at Rs 7,333 lakh. .
Dry crops under rain-fed area were planted in only 1.83 lakh hectares as. against the normal cultivation of 2.92 lakh hectares.
Nizamabad
Out of 36 mandals in the district as many as 31 have been declared drought hit. Severe drought combined with irregular and low quality power supply saw the farmers of this district attack electricity sub stations and the staff. They were frustrated that due to lack of power they were unable to use whatever water there was in their borewells to save their crops. There has been only 40 per cent of the normal rainfall in the district resulting in the drying up of 1600-odd minor irrigation tanks in the district. The medium irrigation projects like Ramadugu and Pocharam were nearly dry. The command area crops have been affected as the Nizamsagar dam level reached its lowest level in several years.
Karimnagar
This district was the only "fortunate" one in Telangana which was visited by the Chief Minister to study the drought situation in mid-September when the drought was clear to everyone. For the first time since Sriramsagar Dam was constructed in 1970 it dried up in August leaving no water even for fish which died in hundreds and thousands. According to government officials, fish worth Rs one lakh died for lack of water. The dam had dried up in 1987 but that was in summer. For the first time it dried up during monsoon.
The State government took its own time to come out with a realistic plan of action to tackle the serious drought situation and the drying up of the Sriramsagar reservoir which threatened paddy crop over severallakh hectares. Although the drought conditions were obvious in late July itself as rains had totally failed, the government waited until September 13 to declare formally the district as "drought hit." 25 out of 56 mandals were declared as "drought-hit."
Revenue minister T Devender Goud has gone on record saying in August end that 274 mandals had been identified as having abysmally low rainfall, but he did not dec1!'ire them as "drought-hit". Relief measures continued to elude these regions reeling under drought. Once a district is declared drought-affected, the government has to waive interest on all agriculture loans and reschedule their recovery, give 25 per cent subsidy on seeds and fertilizers and take up on war-footing relief measures such as digging of bore wells, provision of drinking water and supply of fodder for the cattle.
As many as 37 out of 46 revenue mandals experienced drought in Khammam while major and minor irrigation tanks got minimal inflows. The crop area fell by about 50 per cent in as many as nine of the 46 mandals in the district where the scarcity conditions are acute. The agriculture under the minor irrigation sources, which could not receive sufficient water so far this year, has been affected. About 40,000 hectares of agriculture land lay barren in the absence of sufficient rains. Minor and lift irrigation schemes irrigate an ayacut of about two lakh hectare in the district. There are 382 such schemes, which come under the minor irrigation department. Besides, 300 small tanks irrigate a considerable area. Tanks irrigation an area of 70,000 hectares, canals 65,000 hectares, bore wells 5000 hectares and lift irrigation schemes irrigate 3000 hectares. As many as 43 of the total 46 mandals received low rainfall, of which 29 mandals registered less than 50 per cent of the normal rainfall. Ten mandals got rainfall ranging from 30 per cent to 50 per cent and two mandals as low as 20 per cent to 30 per cent during the current Kharif season. Wazed, Venkatapuram, Charla, Dummugudem, Aswaraopet, Vemsoor, Kallur, Mudigonaa Pinapaka, Manugur, Kunavaram and Konijerla are the worst affected mandals.
Relief Programmes Delayed
Although agricultural operations did not begin and migration had started in full earnest by August end, the government failed to instruct the districts to launch drought relief measures. Official figures of rainfall told the tragic tale: 30 per cent deficit in rainfall all over the state (as on August 31); the situation was worse in
Telangana, with 45 per cent deficit in rainfall until then. The Agriculture Department had submitted a detailed report on the agricultural situation but no action was taken as the Chief Minister was busy with other things. Similarly, the Revenue Department did not react to reports from the various drought-affected districts with the result that no planned, coordinated, substantial drought relief measures were undertaken till the middle of September. By then a large number of cattle were led to slaughterhouses and villages emptied of peop1e as they migrated to urban areas looking for a livelihood. A major problem in Telangana during drought is the scarcity of fodder. Several districts have a huge cattle population which is difficult to sustain in such times. Till August end the government had released only Rs 34.40 lakh to supply the fodder as against the Animal Husbandry department recomm_ndation for the release of Rs 5.37 crore for one month which itself is an underestimated figure. At this rate each drought hit mandal would get barely a lorry load of fodder a day.
As a result of the failure of the monsoon in Telangana, a very small fraction of land sown during normal monsoons could be cultivated. Out of a normal sowr area of 26 lakh acres under dry crop in the region, only 5.3 lakh acres were sown; 'and as against 3.5 lakh acres under agricultural pump sets, a mere 58,000 acres were brough_ uhder (tultivation. That is, about 80 per cent of the normal sown area under dry crpps and 85 per cent of area under pump sets could not be cultivated in Telangana.
Inflow into the Sriramsagar (SRSP) Project across the Godavari river were the lowest in its history (Table 5). In the absence of water releases into SRSP canals, paddy crop in seven lakh acres in four districts, including five lakh acres in Karimnagar district alone, was endangered. The catchment areas of Godavari were receiving rain but the water was being impounded by the Jaikwadi dam, upstream of SRSP. While the state government made a big row about the construction of Almatti dam in Karnataka and every now and then makes issue over low levels ofwater released from Tungabhadra and other project ,upstream on Krishna river in Kamataka, it has not raised the Jaikwadi issue with the government of Maharashtra It could not persuade Maharashtra to release 20 tmc ft of water from Jaikwadi project on upstream Godavari into SRSP which could have saved the crops. Acconding to estimates, farmers had invested at least Rs 2000 an acre for preparing the fields and for transplanting paddy. The estimated loss of paddy crop, at the rate of 20 quintals an acre, would be nearly Rs 500 crores.
The Major Irrigation Minister explained that Maharashtra had not agreed to the proposal since Maharashtra too was facing acute water shortage due to failure of rains. There was only 35 tmc water in the project as against its full capacity of 120 tmc. He said even if the Maharashtra counterpart released 10 tmc water, it would take more than 20 days to traverse 320 km to reach the Sriramsagar project in Andhra Pradesh. Besides evaporation and transmission losses, more than three tmc water wquld get stagnated at the barrages en route. The government explored no alternative(s; if a similar situation arose in either Coastal Andhra or Rayalaseema, it would have been under great pressure to act, to pay compensation and reduce distress of the people.
Drought Manual Revised
The Anjdhra Pradesh Government has replaced the old Drought Manual of 1981, which, was based on the outdated Famine Code of 1950, with a new one prepared by fl, committee headed by Mr. A V S Reddy, a senior IAS officer. The new manual based on the principle of relativity and therefore, is fair, scientific and objective. It has removed all the discretionary powers of the District Collectors in assessing the drought situation and instead made certain physical parameters, such as rainfall, mandatory for declaring ail area as drought-hit.
The new manual says, deficit rainfall in any two of the three other conditions sown area to be less than 50 per cent, crop yield less than 40 per cent, and continued dry spell-were compulsory for declaring a mandai drought-hit which would pave the way for state intervention to save the situation by automatically postponing collection of arrears of land revenue, loans, drainage cess, special land tax, rescheduling of agricultural loans and granting of fresh crop loans.
While the old manual merely stated "significant deficiency in normal rainfall as the criterion, the new one scientifically categories the mandals into three, categories; those receiving an annual rainfall of less than 750 mm, those received 750 mm to 1000 mm, and those with more than 1000 mm rainfall. The manual stipulates that the 15 per cent deficiency will suffice to declare the first category mandal as drought-hit, because “a little deficiency in them will have more, pronounced effect”.
For the second category the deficit recommended is 20 per cent, and the third 25 per cent. Without assigning relative significance of the rainfall received in different areas depending on the type of soils, the old manual described “rainy day" as one giving 2.5 mm of rainfall.
The new manual, on the other hand, fixed 2.5 mm for black cotton soils as these types of land have more retentivity-absorbing capacity and 5 mm for red soils which allow run-off instead of absorbing. If any mandal receives lees than the specified quantum during the season, the day will be treated as forming part of dry spell.
For declaring a mandal as drought-hit, compression in cropped area by 50 per cent and above for all principal crops including paddy is being observed as the norm. The area is to be declared "affected" if it reports reduction in crop yields of 50 per cent and above in respect of major crops, and 40 per cent for high input oriented crops, groundnut, Bengal gram, hybrid sunflower.
The A V S Reddy Committee stipulates that the government should use any part of the Calamity Relief Fund for permanent works as this particular fund was constituted to deal with emergency and extraordinary situations. It also permits flow from the fund to the dove-tailed programme.
It also stipulates that one-third of a landholding should be earmarked for growing fodder and for this legislation should be enacted. The committee also recommends use of techniques available with the National Remote Sensing Agency and the Andhra Pradesh satellite research application center. Their "vegetative index" can be guidance to an impending drought.
It is estimated that the season of monsoon activity in the state will have 50 to 75 days. The state is served by both the south-west monsoon active during June to September, and the north-east monsoon active in October-December. The state receives an average rainfall 600 mm during the south-west monsoon, and 200 mm out of the north-east monsoon.
In 1997 while the state was to receive 441 mm of normal rainfall by August end, it could get only 275 mm. Kharif operations have been limited to 50.34 lakh hectares compared to the normal area of 81.67 lakh hectares. The situation in Mahabubnagar and Prakasam districts was alarming with migration of agriculture labour, lack of fodder resulting in the distress sale of cattle and general fall in the purchasing power of the people.
Conclusion
If we were to consider the governmental concern, generosity and the protness that attends on any calamity in a region other than in Telangana, the case of Telangana would be obvious. For instance, in the summer of 1997 widespread shortage 01 power and low voltage in Telangana burnt out hundreds motors of agricultural pump sets and crops withered away. Unable to bear the losses caused by crops least a couple of farmers committed suicide. Farmers became violent, attacked AP State Electricity Board staff, and even raided neighboring villages to get their share of power. All that the government did in the face of this tragedy was to say that the farmers were being instigated by naxalites. And yet when farmers in East Godavari protesting against increased water and power tariffs were caned by the police and one died, there was such a political uproar that not only the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu apologized for the police action but gave a huge compensation to the farmers who suffered at the hands of the police.
Similarly, in the name of mitigating cyclones and the havoc wreaked by them, hundreds of crores of rupees have been spent in the coastal areas; international funding agencies help was taken, the Central government funds used and voluntary agencies encouraged to work in the area. While admittedly severe cyclone devastates huge pockets, the damage wreaked by drought, the suffering caused to the people the dislocation suffered by them, and the setback they face is no less than the victims of cyclones. The tragedy of the drought victims is even more horrifying because they are the poorest of the poor; the nature's vagary makes them poorer. Yet neither the government, nor any NGO, nor the generosity of an international donor has reached them with help other than token help. In fact, an allegation that has gained widespread currency and credibility, given the history of in jus tic I meted out to Telangana, is that the government has held back drought relief programmes for mitigating the people's suffering because it wanted to conserve the funds under the centrally-funded Calamity Relief fund to meet emergency needs should a cyclone hit the coastal areas during the north-east monsoon from October to December.
It is high time that the government gave serious thought to fight the drought conditions in Telangana. Long-term measures need to be taken to create irrigation potential, improve the region's ecology, and harness the scanty rainfall. The drought of Telangana is as much a handiwork of nature as of the government’s callous. neglect for over four decades. Nature has been generous to Telangana, endowing it with two major rivers, many lakes and rich groundwater resources. Not so the succession of governments headed by politicians from coastal Andhra, and run by bureaucrats from coastal Andhra. For them, Telangana has become a colony - to be used, exploited, and kept under-developed to serve their needs.
Figures vary on the number of people migrating from the drought prone districts of Telangana: the more severe the problem the greater is the exodus from almost all areas of the state to the nearest urban conglomeration: from the North Telangana to Maharashtra from South to Hyderabad, and from West to Karnataka. According to estimates, during any year, the poorest and the driest district of Mahabubnagar sees the exodus of five lakh labourers, well-known throughout India for their hard work. Better known as "Palamur labour”, they have worked in every major project construction in India and yet they have remained half-fed, half-clothed, forced to live the life of nomads, going back to their native village not only to return to the old people they had left behind but to their soil to which they belong; A soil that remains dry most of the year, which does not provide them sustenance and yet to which they return year after year, season after agricultural season, with hope. According to estimates, as many as 12 lakh people have migrated out of Mahabubnagar in 1997 as monsoon failed.
Though the Indian Meteorological Department predicted an optimistic monsoon this year for the country, as far as Andhra Pradesh is concerned, the conditions are precarious. The onset of monsoon itself was delayed and even after onset, there were no widespread rains and drought conditions prevailed till the end of June. Only during the first week of July, there were rains, although the quantum received was low. Again, drought conditions prevailed during second and third weeks of July, rendering most of the rain fed crops unsown. There were long dry spells ranging from 15 to 18 days in almost all the agro-climatic zones of the State, which stunt crop and drastically reduce its growth.
The South-West monsoon normally sets in the first week of June in the State. But the monsoon in 1997 set in on June 12 and it was well below normal. The most affected region was Telangana with 45 per cent rainfall deficiency while overall deficiency for the State worked out to 38 per cent. The deficit in Coastal Andhra was 34 percent and in Rayalaseema 36 per cent.
The region-wise assessment of rainfall shows that North Telangana received 290 mm rainfall as against a normal of 472 mm as on August 6, 1997, a deficit of 39 percent. South Telangana was the most affected receiving only 201.5 mm rainfall as against a normal of 350 mm, which was a deficit of 42 per cent. The deficit in North Coastal Andhra was 32 per cent, in South Coastal 37 percent, and in Rayalaseema 36 per cent.
Up to August 27, the State as a whole received 275 mm of rainfall against 441 mm of normal, a deficit of 38 per cent of normal. The districts of North Telangana received a deficit of 44 per cent. This region received 356 mm rainfall as against normal of 641 mm. South Telangana received 247 mm as against the normal of 459 mm with a deficit of 46 per cent. The region-wise split-up reveals that north coastal Andhra received 381 mm as against 488 mm of normal, a deficit of22 per cent. Similarly, South Coastal Andhra also received a rainfall of 190 mm as against the normal of 318 mm the deficit being 40 per cent (Table I). Rayalaseema region which receives a normal rainfall of 233 mm has received only 160 mm recording a deficit of 31 per cent. Revival of the south west monsoon rains in mid-September did not do much to undo the damage since the crop was a total failure and could not be retrieved. To some extent the late rains filled up the water sources and recharged the groundwater but that was not enough.
The rain deficit in comparison to the normal annual rainfall showed that Telangana's deficit was the highest with 45 per cent. The rain deficit in coastal Andhra districts was 30 per cent and in Rayalaseema 31 per cent, according to official estimates put out by the office of the Relief Commissioner. The rainfall deficit district-wise showed the deficit in Telangana districts ranged from 31 per cent in Khammam to 58 per cent in Mahabubnagar which was the worst affected (Table 2).
While the Union Agriculture Minister Chaturanan Mishra was taken on a whirlwind tour of the drought-affected areas in Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Rangareddy districts in the first week of September, the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu assured the people that there won't be any problems in the Krishna and Godavari delta regions but the upland areas would need attention. He did not utter a Word on the trauma being undergone by the people in Telangana. He undertook an aerial tour of Karimmigar in the second week of September and said that the state was in the grip of "severe drought". It was not until September 13 when he announced that 755 mandals out of 1,110 mandals in the state that Naidu spoke of the drought situation in Telangana.
An analysis of the government's figures on the number of mandals affected by drought as determined by the new norms laid down by the revised drought manual shows that 84.5 per cent of mandals in Rayalaseema were drought-hit; 76 per cent in Telangana and 59 per cent in coastal Andhra (Srikakulam district not included as the statistics were not available) (Table 3 and 4).
The government admitted that about 250 mandals were reeling under severe drought conditions with a majority of them being in Telangana but the government did not declare the areas drought-hit which would automatically devolve several benefit to the affected people in terms of employment, subsidized food grains and odder, postponement of loan and tax collections.
According to official figures, about 755 mandals out of 1110 in the state faced severe drought conditions. Six out of23 districts have received less than 50 per cent of the normal rainfall. In others, rainfall varies between 40-60 per cent but in view of the late onset of monsoon this year, the damage to crops even in districts which received normal rainfall is expected to be considerable in view of long spells of dry weather after the start of agricultural operations in the wake of monsoon rains.
Initial reports of the situation in the entire state said that against 8.16 lakh hectares of area under paddy during the previous kharif season, only 6.20 lakh hectares could be brought under the crop in 1997 kharif. In most of the areas, transplantations were delayed. Under dry crops, only 28.85 lakh hectares were sown this season, as against 47.34 lakh hectares during the previous season. According to Official statistics, agricultural production in the state is likely to come down by 25 per cent on account of adverse seasonal conditions. Paddy transplantation was completed only in 9.30 lakh hectares of land as against 28 lakh hectares. The average was 36 per cent of the normal area for paddy, 65 per cent for pulses, 50 per cent for dry crops and 36 per cent for oilseeds. Groundnut crop was taken up in 6.53 lakh hectares as against the normal area of 11.88 lakh hectares.
According to statistics, the total dry crops coverage in the State stood at 21 lakh hectares as against a normal area of 53 lakh hectares. The corresponding figure of dry crops for 1996 was 37 lakh hectares, which means that an extent 16 lakh hectares was not covered. Most of the dry crops are grown in Telangana Minor irrigation sources such as tanks and wells have dried up due to scanty rainfall and there has been no transplantation of paddy in areas irrigated by minor irrigation sources that which are mostly in Telangana.
While there is quibbling among officials as to when a drought should be declared and what criteria to follow, the most reliable indicators are the pee themselves. Among the people-oriented indicators of drought are: mass migra1 of people, widespread distress sale of cattle, and increased dacoities which attributed to near-famine conditions prevailing leading to unemployment and he the people driven to desperation. Even under normal conditions at least five I agricultural laborers migrate to other areas from the drought-prone Mahabubnagar district which is-the poorest and most backward, during the off-season in search of work. In 1997 it is estimated that 12 lakh persons have migrated.
For a more deeper perspective and the extent of the suffering of the people is necessary to study district-wise the overall picture of the drought.
Mahabubnagar
Mahabubnagar district received only 220 mm rainfall against the normal 432mm up to August end. Almost all crops withered away with 654 irrigation sour received no water. An estimated 5000 bore wells and about 80,000 irrigation WI dried up. Due to shortage of fodder thousands of cattle were sent off to slaughter houses. In certain areas drinking water was available once in five days and Jadcherla town it was supplied once in 10 days. "Drought pensions" were sanctioned to 10,000 persons by the government in the district while scores of villages turned into ghost habitations with all able bodied persons migrating to distant cities with their young ones leaving behind the old who could not travel.
Mahabubnagar district bore the brunt of drought this year, with agricult1 alone reporting crop loss of Rs 400 crores. The district Collector sent several reports on the alarming situation in the district. Against 9.15 lakh hectares of la taken up for cultivation during kharif season, only 4.45 lakh hectares were taken up this year. Out of the cultivated area of 4.45 hectares, crops in 3.75 hectares were damaged due to scanty rainfall. Normally paddy is cultivated in 1.24 lakh hectares in the district, but this time it was cultivated only 38,304hectares,out of which the crop in 26,m hectares got damaged. As against normal area 2.71 hectares, jowar was sown in 1.37 hectares out of which the .crop in 1.27 lakh hectares got damaged. Similarly, castor was grown in 47,087 hectares as against the normal area of 1.37 lakh hectares and the crop in, 38.247 hectares was damaged due to continuing dry spell. Cotton is normally grown in 79,928 hectare, but this time it was sown in only 49,977 hectares.
Not many efforts were made to change the situation of almost continuous drought in Mahabubnagar district. This district receives one of the scantiest rainfall and yet whenever drought situation has arisen some temporary measures are adopted but no long-term programmes implemented to reverse the drought conditions nor efforts were made to mitigate them through the well-known measures such as watershed development, and harnessing rain water run-off. According to a study, the district uses only five per cent of the rain water for irrigation and drinking purposes while the rest flows unutilized into Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers.
Sheer neglect has marked the planning by irrigation department. Several major and medium irrigation projects planned for mitigating the drought conditions have remained on paper. For instance, the Priyadarshini Jurala project, Bhima first and second phases, Nettempadu, Koilsagar, Peddamarur and Kalwakurthy lift irrigation schemes which were expected to irrigate 4.5 lakh hectares apart from providing protected water supply to hundreds of habitations have not been taken up. Successive governments have shown little concern or sympathy with the people of Mahabubnagar.
Medak
Fodder scarcity has become a major problem in Medak as inadequate rains have prevented farmers from growing fodder and barren grasslands have affected cattle and she<,p in this district with one of the highest cattle population.
Warangal
According to experts, drought conditions have been spreading to several non drought areas in Warangal. Failure of rains for the past six years in parts of Warangal has forced fanners to leave their land fallow which is increasing monsoon after failed monsoon. All the 50 mandals in the district were severely affected. The water level in minor irrigation sources like Parkal and Ramappa lakes and Salivagu project is much below the normal with Lakkavaram Lake and Malluruvagu project recording zero level till July 15. Lakkavaram and Parkal lakes have almost dried up with little in flows into them. It is feared that the groundwater resources would be threatened if such dry conditions continue. In agriculture, paddy transplantation was possble in only 15,000 ha as against the normal area of 1.03 lakh ha. Jowar, greengram, groundnut and cotton crops in thousands of hectares of land were affected by the drought.
The Warangal Collector reported that all the 51 mandals in the district were drought-hit. About 46 per cent of shortfall in rain during the South West monsoon had left 56 per cent of the normal sown area to be left fallow causing a crop loss of Rs 276.95 crores. In real terms, two lakh hectares were left fallow out of the normal 3.53 lakh hectares sown. Out of 1.53 lakh hectares sown in 1997 kharif lack of rains had damaged crops over 38,000 hectares. Special arrangement were made to transport fodder from Palampet to Jangaon, the worst affected revenue division in the district.
Nalgonda
The district faced this kind of drought for the first time in 12 years. The most affected district after Mahabubnagar was Nalgonda. With the exception of only two mandals out of 59 in the district all the mandals have been affected by drought. Only five mandals received normal rainfall. More than half of the villages faced severe shortage of drinking water. All tanks dried up, and with the groundwater level receding, more than half of bore wells too dried up. Crops were raised in only half of the total cultivable area and there was acute scarcity of fodder. Milk collection in the district fell by 15 lakh litres daily due to the monsoon failure and fodder scarcity.
Nalgonda threatened to turn into a desert as land cracked for lack of rain, tanks and small irrigation sources dried up, emaciated cattle were drive to Hyderabad's slaughter houses and mass exodus of people began. Newspapers reported that in Mallepally village in the drought-hit Deverakonda Assembly constituency of the district, Mallaiah, a marginal farmer of Peddadisarlapally village was taking home an emaciated cow along with its calf which he bought for a throwaway price of Rs 1800. In normal times this pair would have cost Rs 3600. Many farmers, unable to grow fodder, sold away their bulls and buffaloes for a paltry Rs 1500 or Rs 2000. With even dry crops like bajra, jowar and groundnut not sown, there was no possibility of farmers being left with fodder for their cattle. Local farmers said most of the cattle were being sold to contractors of various slaughter houses in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Although this was a regular phenomenon, the sale of cattle for slaughter was more pronounced due to drought this year. The district's cattle population is 15 lakh but the fodder stock was sufficient for only three lakh heads of cattle.
In 24 out of the 59 mandals in the district, the rainfall was less than 60 per cent in 30 mandals, it was 26 per cent to 30 per cent less in five mandals and 5 per cent less in five mandals. There are 549 small irrigation sources in the district, out of which only 124 tanks received water for irrigation. In the rainfed areas, crops on 7.35 lakh acres are sown in normal years in the district, but only four lakh acres were sown in 1997 due to inadequate rains. With fields drying up in 21 out of 59 mandals there was a drastic fall in paddy cultivation in 1997. Paddy was transplanted in 28,660 hectares of land as against the normal cultivation of 1.39 lakh hectares. Only 19 per cent transplantation could be completed. In the rainfed area, 57 per cent transplantation was completed but with long spells of drought the yield is expected to be low. The Nalgonda district agricultural authorities have estimated that the loss of crop production due to the drought is about 1.23 lakh tonnes valued at Rs 7,333 lakh. .
Dry crops under rain-fed area were planted in only 1.83 lakh hectares as. against the normal cultivation of 2.92 lakh hectares.
Nizamabad
Out of 36 mandals in the district as many as 31 have been declared drought hit. Severe drought combined with irregular and low quality power supply saw the farmers of this district attack electricity sub stations and the staff. They were frustrated that due to lack of power they were unable to use whatever water there was in their borewells to save their crops. There has been only 40 per cent of the normal rainfall in the district resulting in the drying up of 1600-odd minor irrigation tanks in the district. The medium irrigation projects like Ramadugu and Pocharam were nearly dry. The command area crops have been affected as the Nizamsagar dam level reached its lowest level in several years.
Karimnagar
This district was the only "fortunate" one in Telangana which was visited by the Chief Minister to study the drought situation in mid-September when the drought was clear to everyone. For the first time since Sriramsagar Dam was constructed in 1970 it dried up in August leaving no water even for fish which died in hundreds and thousands. According to government officials, fish worth Rs one lakh died for lack of water. The dam had dried up in 1987 but that was in summer. For the first time it dried up during monsoon.
The State government took its own time to come out with a realistic plan of action to tackle the serious drought situation and the drying up of the Sriramsagar reservoir which threatened paddy crop over severallakh hectares. Although the drought conditions were obvious in late July itself as rains had totally failed, the government waited until September 13 to declare formally the district as "drought hit." 25 out of 56 mandals were declared as "drought-hit."
Revenue minister T Devender Goud has gone on record saying in August end that 274 mandals had been identified as having abysmally low rainfall, but he did not dec1!'ire them as "drought-hit". Relief measures continued to elude these regions reeling under drought. Once a district is declared drought-affected, the government has to waive interest on all agriculture loans and reschedule their recovery, give 25 per cent subsidy on seeds and fertilizers and take up on war-footing relief measures such as digging of bore wells, provision of drinking water and supply of fodder for the cattle.
As many as 37 out of 46 revenue mandals experienced drought in Khammam while major and minor irrigation tanks got minimal inflows. The crop area fell by about 50 per cent in as many as nine of the 46 mandals in the district where the scarcity conditions are acute. The agriculture under the minor irrigation sources, which could not receive sufficient water so far this year, has been affected. About 40,000 hectares of agriculture land lay barren in the absence of sufficient rains. Minor and lift irrigation schemes irrigate an ayacut of about two lakh hectare in the district. There are 382 such schemes, which come under the minor irrigation department. Besides, 300 small tanks irrigate a considerable area. Tanks irrigation an area of 70,000 hectares, canals 65,000 hectares, bore wells 5000 hectares and lift irrigation schemes irrigate 3000 hectares. As many as 43 of the total 46 mandals received low rainfall, of which 29 mandals registered less than 50 per cent of the normal rainfall. Ten mandals got rainfall ranging from 30 per cent to 50 per cent and two mandals as low as 20 per cent to 30 per cent during the current Kharif season. Wazed, Venkatapuram, Charla, Dummugudem, Aswaraopet, Vemsoor, Kallur, Mudigonaa Pinapaka, Manugur, Kunavaram and Konijerla are the worst affected mandals.
Relief Programmes Delayed
Although agricultural operations did not begin and migration had started in full earnest by August end, the government failed to instruct the districts to launch drought relief measures. Official figures of rainfall told the tragic tale: 30 per cent deficit in rainfall all over the state (as on August 31); the situation was worse in
Telangana, with 45 per cent deficit in rainfall until then. The Agriculture Department had submitted a detailed report on the agricultural situation but no action was taken as the Chief Minister was busy with other things. Similarly, the Revenue Department did not react to reports from the various drought-affected districts with the result that no planned, coordinated, substantial drought relief measures were undertaken till the middle of September. By then a large number of cattle were led to slaughterhouses and villages emptied of peop1e as they migrated to urban areas looking for a livelihood. A major problem in Telangana during drought is the scarcity of fodder. Several districts have a huge cattle population which is difficult to sustain in such times. Till August end the government had released only Rs 34.40 lakh to supply the fodder as against the Animal Husbandry department recomm_ndation for the release of Rs 5.37 crore for one month which itself is an underestimated figure. At this rate each drought hit mandal would get barely a lorry load of fodder a day.
As a result of the failure of the monsoon in Telangana, a very small fraction of land sown during normal monsoons could be cultivated. Out of a normal sowr area of 26 lakh acres under dry crop in the region, only 5.3 lakh acres were sown; 'and as against 3.5 lakh acres under agricultural pump sets, a mere 58,000 acres were brough_ uhder (tultivation. That is, about 80 per cent of the normal sown area under dry crpps and 85 per cent of area under pump sets could not be cultivated in Telangana.
Inflow into the Sriramsagar (SRSP) Project across the Godavari river were the lowest in its history (Table 5). In the absence of water releases into SRSP canals, paddy crop in seven lakh acres in four districts, including five lakh acres in Karimnagar district alone, was endangered. The catchment areas of Godavari were receiving rain but the water was being impounded by the Jaikwadi dam, upstream of SRSP. While the state government made a big row about the construction of Almatti dam in Karnataka and every now and then makes issue over low levels ofwater released from Tungabhadra and other project ,upstream on Krishna river in Kamataka, it has not raised the Jaikwadi issue with the government of Maharashtra It could not persuade Maharashtra to release 20 tmc ft of water from Jaikwadi project on upstream Godavari into SRSP which could have saved the crops. Acconding to estimates, farmers had invested at least Rs 2000 an acre for preparing the fields and for transplanting paddy. The estimated loss of paddy crop, at the rate of 20 quintals an acre, would be nearly Rs 500 crores.
The Major Irrigation Minister explained that Maharashtra had not agreed to the proposal since Maharashtra too was facing acute water shortage due to failure of rains. There was only 35 tmc water in the project as against its full capacity of 120 tmc. He said even if the Maharashtra counterpart released 10 tmc water, it would take more than 20 days to traverse 320 km to reach the Sriramsagar project in Andhra Pradesh. Besides evaporation and transmission losses, more than three tmc water wquld get stagnated at the barrages en route. The government explored no alternative(s; if a similar situation arose in either Coastal Andhra or Rayalaseema, it would have been under great pressure to act, to pay compensation and reduce distress of the people.
Drought Manual Revised
The Anjdhra Pradesh Government has replaced the old Drought Manual of 1981, which, was based on the outdated Famine Code of 1950, with a new one prepared by fl, committee headed by Mr. A V S Reddy, a senior IAS officer. The new manual based on the principle of relativity and therefore, is fair, scientific and objective. It has removed all the discretionary powers of the District Collectors in assessing the drought situation and instead made certain physical parameters, such as rainfall, mandatory for declaring ail area as drought-hit.
The new manual says, deficit rainfall in any two of the three other conditions sown area to be less than 50 per cent, crop yield less than 40 per cent, and continued dry spell-were compulsory for declaring a mandai drought-hit which would pave the way for state intervention to save the situation by automatically postponing collection of arrears of land revenue, loans, drainage cess, special land tax, rescheduling of agricultural loans and granting of fresh crop loans.
While the old manual merely stated "significant deficiency in normal rainfall as the criterion, the new one scientifically categories the mandals into three, categories; those receiving an annual rainfall of less than 750 mm, those received 750 mm to 1000 mm, and those with more than 1000 mm rainfall. The manual stipulates that the 15 per cent deficiency will suffice to declare the first category mandal as drought-hit, because “a little deficiency in them will have more, pronounced effect”.
For the second category the deficit recommended is 20 per cent, and the third 25 per cent. Without assigning relative significance of the rainfall received in different areas depending on the type of soils, the old manual described “rainy day" as one giving 2.5 mm of rainfall.
The new manual, on the other hand, fixed 2.5 mm for black cotton soils as these types of land have more retentivity-absorbing capacity and 5 mm for red soils which allow run-off instead of absorbing. If any mandal receives lees than the specified quantum during the season, the day will be treated as forming part of dry spell.
For declaring a mandal as drought-hit, compression in cropped area by 50 per cent and above for all principal crops including paddy is being observed as the norm. The area is to be declared "affected" if it reports reduction in crop yields of 50 per cent and above in respect of major crops, and 40 per cent for high input oriented crops, groundnut, Bengal gram, hybrid sunflower.
The A V S Reddy Committee stipulates that the government should use any part of the Calamity Relief Fund for permanent works as this particular fund was constituted to deal with emergency and extraordinary situations. It also permits flow from the fund to the dove-tailed programme.
It also stipulates that one-third of a landholding should be earmarked for growing fodder and for this legislation should be enacted. The committee also recommends use of techniques available with the National Remote Sensing Agency and the Andhra Pradesh satellite research application center. Their "vegetative index" can be guidance to an impending drought.
It is estimated that the season of monsoon activity in the state will have 50 to 75 days. The state is served by both the south-west monsoon active during June to September, and the north-east monsoon active in October-December. The state receives an average rainfall 600 mm during the south-west monsoon, and 200 mm out of the north-east monsoon.
In 1997 while the state was to receive 441 mm of normal rainfall by August end, it could get only 275 mm. Kharif operations have been limited to 50.34 lakh hectares compared to the normal area of 81.67 lakh hectares. The situation in Mahabubnagar and Prakasam districts was alarming with migration of agriculture labour, lack of fodder resulting in the distress sale of cattle and general fall in the purchasing power of the people.
Conclusion
If we were to consider the governmental concern, generosity and the protness that attends on any calamity in a region other than in Telangana, the case of Telangana would be obvious. For instance, in the summer of 1997 widespread shortage 01 power and low voltage in Telangana burnt out hundreds motors of agricultural pump sets and crops withered away. Unable to bear the losses caused by crops least a couple of farmers committed suicide. Farmers became violent, attacked AP State Electricity Board staff, and even raided neighboring villages to get their share of power. All that the government did in the face of this tragedy was to say that the farmers were being instigated by naxalites. And yet when farmers in East Godavari protesting against increased water and power tariffs were caned by the police and one died, there was such a political uproar that not only the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu apologized for the police action but gave a huge compensation to the farmers who suffered at the hands of the police.
Similarly, in the name of mitigating cyclones and the havoc wreaked by them, hundreds of crores of rupees have been spent in the coastal areas; international funding agencies help was taken, the Central government funds used and voluntary agencies encouraged to work in the area. While admittedly severe cyclone devastates huge pockets, the damage wreaked by drought, the suffering caused to the people the dislocation suffered by them, and the setback they face is no less than the victims of cyclones. The tragedy of the drought victims is even more horrifying because they are the poorest of the poor; the nature's vagary makes them poorer. Yet neither the government, nor any NGO, nor the generosity of an international donor has reached them with help other than token help. In fact, an allegation that has gained widespread currency and credibility, given the history of in jus tic I meted out to Telangana, is that the government has held back drought relief programmes for mitigating the people's suffering because it wanted to conserve the funds under the centrally-funded Calamity Relief fund to meet emergency needs should a cyclone hit the coastal areas during the north-east monsoon from October to December.
It is high time that the government gave serious thought to fight the drought conditions in Telangana. Long-term measures need to be taken to create irrigation potential, improve the region's ecology, and harness the scanty rainfall. The drought of Telangana is as much a handiwork of nature as of the government’s callous. neglect for over four decades. Nature has been generous to Telangana, endowing it with two major rivers, many lakes and rich groundwater resources. Not so the succession of governments headed by politicians from coastal Andhra, and run by bureaucrats from coastal Andhra. For them, Telangana has become a colony - to be used, exploited, and kept under-developed to serve their needs.
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