Farmers worried as Nagarjunasagar water level drops
Farmers under the Nagarjunasagar project are worried as the Krishna basin has recorded no rainfall so far, with paddy planting already under way. The reservoir level stands at 504.50 feet against 512 feet last year. About 2 million acres are irrigated by the right and left canals in both Telugu states. In Nalgonda, Rabi paddy area fell from 5,56,637 acres to 4,20,523 acres. District Agriculture Officer V Sravan Kumar said 11,56,000 acres may be sown this Kharif.
Source
Nalgonda — agriculture · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- Nagarjunasagar reservoir level is 504.50 feet now against 512 feet last year — Figures appear in source; no department or official named as the source of the readings.
- About 2 million acres are irrigated by the Nagarjunasagar right and left canals across the two Telugu states — Figure appears in source, unattributed.
- Rabi paddy area fell from 5,56,637 acres to 4,20,523 acres, a drop of about 1,30,000 acres — Figures appear in source and are internally consistent with the stated decline.
- Paddy output was 8 lakh metric tonnes this year against about 1 million metric tonnes in the previous Rabi season — Figures appear in source; no source given for the production data.
- About 11,56,000 acres may be sown this Kharif; 2,20,000 acres of cotton and 500 acres of paddy already planted in Nalgonda — Attributed to District Agriculture Officer V Sravan Kumar speaking to TNIE.
Analysts’ view opinion
This is less a water story than an income story: roughly 2 million acres across the two Telugu states depend on the Nagarjunasagar canals for their cash flow. In Nalgonda alone, Rabi paddy area fell from 5,56,637 acres to 4,20,523 acres and output from about 1 million tonnes to 8 lakh tonnes — a squeeze that hits landowner earnings, tenant-farmer margins, labour days and the milling, transport and input trade at the same time. With the reservoir at 504.50 feet against 512 feet a year ago, the same cost-and-risk exposure carries into Kharif; officials' hope of 11,56,000 acres of sowing is an estimate resting on rainfall, not an assurance.
- If canal releases come late, farmers shift to borewells and tankers, pushing up cultivation costs through diesel, power and fresh digging — while the price they get for grain does not rise to match.
- The pain is unevenly shared: those with their own land and working borewells can absorb it, while tenant farmers and farm labourers lose income first, as the crop holiday and dried crops fed to cattle in the story suggest.
- A drop of about 1,30,000 acres and roughly 2 lakh tonnes of paddy also means fewer procurement, milling, transport and loading work-days — the shock does not stop at the field boundary.
- The 2,20,000 acres already sown to cotton signals an economic adjustment toward less water-intensive crops, which can cut irrigation risk but adds exposure to cotton price swings.
- Because Nagarjunasagar also supplies drinking water to Hyderabad's twin cities and the combined Nalgonda district, a lower level can set up competition between irrigation and drinking-water allocation, where drinking water usually takes priority.
What to watch — Watch monsoon rainfall in the coming weeks, the reservoir level trend and the dates of canal releases — together they will decide whether the 11,56,000-acre projection holds or another crop holiday and higher input bills follow.
The story does not quantify farmer income loss, compensation, debt levels or any effect on retail prices, and the 11,56,000-acre Kharif figure is an official expectation contingent on rain.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 4 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
The Nagarjunasagar project on the Krishna river irrigates about 2 million acres through its right and left canals across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and also supplies drinking water to Hyderabad's twin cities and the combined Nalgonda district. As of the June 2024 report, the Krishna basin had received no rainfall, leaving the reservoir at 504.50 feet against 512 feet a year earlier, even as paddy planting had begun. Nalgonda district had already seen a sharp fall in Rabi paddy area and yield, a declared crop holiday and drying borewells, making farmers anxious about timely canal water for Kharif.
Key facts
- Nagarjunasagar reservoir level stood at 504.50 feet, against 512 feet at the same time last year.
- About 2 million acres are cultivated through the Nagarjunasagar right and left canals in both Telugu states.
- The project also supplies drinking water to the twin cities of Hyderabad and the combined Nalgonda district.
- Nalgonda's Rabi paddy area fell from 5,56,637 acres in the previous season to 4,20,523 acres in Rabi 2023 - a drop of about 1,30,000 acres.
- Paddy output this year was 8 lakh metric tonnes, against about 1 million metric tonnes in the last Rabi season.
- A crop holiday was declared due to lack of water in the Nagarjunasagar project caused by monsoon conditions.
- District Agriculture Officer V Sravan Kumar said about 11,56,000 acres of various crops could be sown this Kharif, against 11,51,000 acres last Kharif.
- In Nalgonda, 2,20,000 acres of cotton and 500 acres of paddy have already been planted under borewells and other water sources.
Timeline
- 2019 to 2022Cultivated area in Nalgonda district increased every year.
- 2023 Rabi seasonRabi cultivated area decreased; paddy sown on 4,20,523 acres against 5,56,637 acres in the previous Rabi season.
- Last Kharif seasonDespite insufficient water in Nagarjunasagar, good rains allowed 11,51,000 acres of paddy, cotton and other crops to be sown.
- 21 June 2024 (report)No rainfall recorded in the Krishna basin; reservoir at 504.50 feet; paddy planting already started and farmers anxious.
Who has a stake
- Farmers under Nagarjunasagar right and left canals — Timely irrigation water for about 2 million acres; risk of crop loss, crop holiday and feeding dried crops to cattle.
- Nalgonda district farmers — Paddy area and yield already down; dried borewells and openwells forced dependence on water tankers.
- Residents of Hyderabad twin cities and combined Nalgonda district — Drinking water supply drawn from the Nagarjunasagar project.
- District Agriculture Department / DAO V Sravan Kumar — Projecting and supporting Kharif sowing of about 11,56,000 acres amid rainfall uncertainty.
- Both Telugu states (Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) — Share of Krishna basin water for canal irrigation under the same project.
Why it matters
Nagarjunasagar is both an irrigation lifeline for around 2 million acres and a drinking water source for Hyderabad, so a 7.5-foot shortfall against last year's level at the start of Kharif affects food production and urban water security together. Nalgonda's experience - Rabi paddy area down by about 1,30,000 acres, output down from about 1 million to 8 lakh metric tonnes, a declared crop holiday and dry borewells - shows how quickly monsoon failure in the Krishna basin translates into farm distress.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Nagarjunasagar is on the Krishna river; its right and left canals irrigate about 2 million acres in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
- Reservoir level as reported: 504.50 feet in June 2024 versus 512 feet a year earlier.
- Nagarjunasagar also supplies drinking water to Hyderabad's twin cities and combined Nalgonda district.
- Nalgonda Rabi paddy: 5,56,637 acres earlier to 4,20,523 acres in 2023 Rabi; output 8 lakh MT versus about 1 million MT.
- Crop holiday was declared in the Nagarjunasagar command due to water shortage from monsoon conditions.
- Expected Kharif sowing in Nalgonda: 11,56,000 acres, against 11,51,000 acres achieved last Kharif.
Mains framing
The Nagarjunasagar situation illustrates how a single deficient monsoon in the Krishna basin cascades through a canal-irrigated agrarian economy. With no rainfall recorded and the reservoir at 504.50 feet against 512 feet last year, roughly 2 million acres under the right and left canals face uncertain water release just as paddy transplanting begins; the same storage must also meet Hyderabad's drinking water needs, creating a direct competition between urban supply and irrigation. The consequences are already visible in Nalgonda: Rabi paddy area down by about 1,30,000 acres, output falling from about 1 million metric tonnes to 8 lakh metric tonnes, a declared crop holiday, dried borewells and openwells, tanker-dependent farmers, and dry crops being fed to cattle or burnt. Farmer responses - 2,20,000 acres of cotton against just 500 acres of paddy planted so far on borewell water - point to crop diversification away from water-intensive paddy as an adaptive strategy, while official optimism rests on the expectation of good rains enabling 11,56,000 acres of sowing. The way forward suggested by the facts lies in cautious, rainfall-contingent crop planning, timely advisories on canal water availability, groundwater recharge and drinking water prioritisation, rather than assuming assured canal supply.
Key terms
- Nagarjunasagar project
- Krishna river project whose right and left canals irrigate about 2 million acres in both Telugu states and supply drinking water to Hyderabad.
- Krishna basin
- The catchment feeding Nagarjunasagar; it had recorded no rainfall as of the report, keeping inflows and storage low.
- Crop holiday
- A decision to leave land uncultivated for a season, declared here because of lack of water in the Nagarjunasagar project.
- Rabi and Kharif
- The winter and monsoon cropping seasons; Nalgonda's Rabi paddy shrank while Kharif sowing of 11,56,000 acres is projected.
- Command area
- The land served by a project's canals - here about 2 million acres under the Nagarjunasagar left and right canals.
Practice questions
- Examine how deficient monsoon rainfall in the Krishna basin affects both irrigation and urban drinking water security, using the Nagarjunasagar project as a case study.
- Falling reservoir levels are pushing farmers from paddy towards crops like cotton. Critically discuss crop diversification as a drought-adaptation strategy in canal command areas.
- What institutional measures can reduce farm distress during a declared crop holiday? Discuss with reference to the Nalgonda district experience.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.