Provide relief in view of poor rainfall: Oppn to T'gana govt

: The opposition Congress, BJP and TDP Tuesday demanded that the Telangana government take immediate measures to provide relief to farmers and others in view of inadequate rainfall in the state this season.

Senior Congress leader and former leader of opposition in the legislative council Mohammed Ali Shabbir demanded that the government convene a special session of the Assembly to discuss the 'drought' situation and other issues.

He criticised Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for convening a session of the Assembly (on July 18 and 19) only to pass the new municipal Act, while allegedly ignoring other crucial issues.

"Of 584 mandals, as many as 433 or almost 80 per cent mandals in Telangana are facing drought. Farmers have lost their crops... Borewells have gone dry and there is no drinking water in many mandals," he told reporters here.

"Instead of discussing these issues to find a solution, KCR is interested only in a new municipal Act which could give his party an advantage in municipal elections," Shabbir said.

Meanwhile, a BJP delegation led by senior leader and former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya met state chief secretary S K Joshi and demanded several relief measures in view of the deficiency in rainfall.

"Out of 584 mandals, 435 mandals are drought-affected," BJP said in a memorandum submitted to the chief secretary.

The party demanded that the state government supply drinking water to all the towns and villages by tankers wherever people faced acute water shortage.

Among others, BJP demanded that the government supply free seeds to farmers and declare 435 mandals as drought-hit.

TDP's Telangana unit president L Ramana alleged that the TRS government has not even tried to obtain reports on the 'drought'.

The state cabinet, which is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, should discuss the situation arising out of inadequate rainfall and an alternative plan, the TDP leader said in a statement.

According to the Meteorological Centre in Hyderabad, Telangana received 36 per cent deficient rainfall till Tuesday since June 1.

It received 154.4 mm of rainfall against normal rainfall of 239.4 mm during the period, the Met Centre said.