Dry Spell Grips Telangana: Farmers Anxious Over Crop Losses

Standing in his eight-acre rainfed farm in Aroor village of Sangareddy district in mid-July, P. Narasimhulu gently pulls out a black gram sapling from the parched soil. The frail plant barely reaches his ankle. Raising his hand nearly three feet above it, he says, “By now, it should have been this tall.”

Last monsoon, excess rain had washed away nearly ₹3 lakh that the 40-year-old tenant farmer had invested in his cotton crop. This year, it is the absence of rain that threatens to leave him counting losses again.

“I have spent around ₹60,000 for ploughing and ₹40,000 to sow black gram and redgram (kandi pappu) in eight acres this Vanakalam (rainy) season. There are no rains so far. If we receive good rains in the coming days, I might recover some of the investment. Else, I will lose ₹1 lakh,” says Mr. Narasimhulu, who cultivates leased land.

The vegetation growing between the crop rows offers another reminder of how little rain the fields have received. “We used to weed it out by this time,” he says, pointing to the stunted growth.

His anxiety is shared by several farmers across Telangana, where a delayed southwest monsoon and the looming impact of El Niño have raised fears of crop losses, shrinking groundwater reserves and a difficult agricultural season. Farmers cultivating paddy, cotton, pulses, cereals, vegetables and fruits across the State have been waiting anxiously for sustained rainfall, worried not just about the current crop but also the seasons ahead.

The southwest monsoon reached Telangana on June 8 and covered the entire State only on June 23, after a delay of 15 days. Encouraged by the first showers, many farmers began sowing. But the rains failed to sustain, leaving fields dry and crops under stress.

Their concern is backed by data. According to the Agriculture Department’s recently released ‘El Niño Contingency Plan for Vanakalam 2026’, groundwater levels have already declined in 18 districts. If the State receives 30% below-normal rainfall, groundwater levels are projected to fall from 9.46 metres below ground level (mbgl) in June to 10.35 mbgl in July and 11.01 mbgl in August.

Rainfall has also remained far below normal. Between June 1 and July 14, a total 27 of Telangana’s 33 districts recorded deficient rainfall while one district fell in the large-deficit category.

The situation is equally worrying in reservoirs. Most major, medium and minor irrigation reservoirs are at, or close to, their Minimum Draw Level. As per the contingency plan released on July 16, the available live storage is limited and sufficient mainly to meet essential needs such as drinking water supply, leaving little scope to provide irrigation unless the remaining monsoon brings substantial inflows.

For a State where agriculture remains a key source of livelihood, the implications are noteworthy. According to the Telangana Socio-Economic Outlook 2026, agriculture accounts for 41.5% of total employment in the State, compared with 22.2% in industry and 36.3% in services. In rural Telangana, nearly 62.6% of the population depends on agriculture and allied activities.

The burden is especially heavy on farmers who rely entirely on rainfall. Tenant farmers cultivating rainfed lands are among the most vulnerable, as irrigated lands command much higher lease rents than dry lands.

Political differences over the crisis have sharpened as the dry spell continues. Senior leaders of the main Opposition, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, accused the State government of creating an “artificial drought” by not operating the pumps at Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS). The party’s Deputy Floor Leader, T. Harish Rao, said the project was conceived to ensure farmers would no longer remain at the mercy of uncertain monsoons if Godavari waters were lifted into Telangana’s reservoirs.

In response, Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of KLIS would not be permitted to operate until structural repairs are completed, citing safety concerns. The government has urged farmers to rely on contingency measures and has begun distributing drought-resistant seeds.