
The Telangana government began a grand Varuna Yagam at Nagarjunasagar on Monday, seeking abundant rainfall for the Krishna and Godavari basins. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will attend the concluding ceremony, while…
The Telangana government began a grand Varuna Yagam at Nagarjunasagar on Monday, seeking abundant rainfall for the Krishna and Godavari basins. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will attend the concluding ceremony, while Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife participated in the rituals. As many as 108 priests are performing the yagam with 11 homa kundams.

The ritual comes as Nagarjunasagar holds only 145.65 TMC against its gross storage of 312.045 TMC, far below the 310.25 TMC recorded on the same date last year. The government cited weak monsoon and El Nino threats. BRS leader K T Rama Rao said the government should take concrete steps to provide relief to farmers. An expert committee has suggested drip irrigation subsidies and drought-tolerant crops for the current Kharif season.
Some may dismiss the Varuna Yagam as superstition or a political diversion. But the ritual reflects genuine anxiety over water security. The real test is whether the government matches prayer with policy: the expert committee recommended subsidies for drip irrigation and drought-tolerant crops. Will the state implement those measures, or will this be a one-day spectacle while farmers wait for water?
Sources (3): thehindu.com, indiatoday.in, hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.