Now Reading: Telangana to perform Varuna Yagam as weak monsoon hits reservoirs
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Telangana to perform Varuna Yagam as weak monsoon hits reservoirs
Telangana will conduct a Varuna Yagam at Nagarjunasagar on Monday, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy attending the concluding ritual. The state seeks abundant rain as the southwest monsoon has crossed its…
The Story in Brief
Telangana will conduct a Varuna Yagam at Nagarjunasagar on Monday, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy attending the concluding ritual. The state seeks abundant rain as the southwest monsoon has crossed its halfway stage but inflows into the Krishna and Godavari basins remain below expectations. The Hindu reports that 108 priests will perform rituals around 11 homa kundams throughout the day. Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy will lead the programme.
Nagarjunasagar reservoir currently holds 145.65 TMC against a gross storage capacity of 312.045 TMC, with water level at about 518 feet compared to the full reservoir level of 590 feet. On the same date last year, it held about 310.25 TMC. India Today adds that an expert committee appointed by the state government on July 30 has suggested measures including subsidies on drip irrigation and promotion of drought-tolerant crops. BRS Working President K T Rama Rao said the government should take concrete steps to provide relief to farmers.
The Indian Opinion
Performing a yagam for rain sits oddly with a government that also appointed an expert committee on El Nino. The ritual itself, 108 priests, 11 homa kundams, is hardly new for Telangana, which has seen past governments do the same during dry spells. But this year's half-empty reservoirs and the opposition's charge of inaction on farmer relief make the optics tricky. What matters is not the smoke rising from Nagarjunasagar but whether the government will implement the committee's advice on drip irrigation subsidies and drought-tolerant crops.
Sources (2): thehindu.com, indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
