Hyderabad: Expressing concern over the possibility of a climate phenomenon called by experts as a “Super El Niño” threatening to impact current monsoon, Telangana irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Telangana govt is fully geared up to tackle the challenges posed by deficient rainfall and increasing uncertainty in respect of state utilization of water resources.The minister said the Telangana govt had ensured long-term drinking water security for Hyderabad through decades of planned investments in bringing water from the Godavari and Krishna rivers, while acknowledging that declining groundwater levels remained a serious challenge requiring immediate and sustained action.“Hyderabad today is among the fastest-growing cities in India in terms of population, economic growth and GDP, and is widely regarded as one of the country’s most liveable metropolitan cities,” he said. He added that despite rapid urbanisation, the state govt had largely managed Hyderabad’s growth in a planned manner, ensuring that the city did not face shortages of drinking water or power. Traffic congestion, he admitted, remained a challenge because of the city’s rapid expansion, but said the state govt was addressing it through metro rail expansion and other major infrastructure projects.On concerns over water security, the minister said that Hyderabad receives drinking water from both the Godavari and Krishna rivers through extensive pipeline networks created over several decades by successive governments. However, he said that increasing dependence on groundwater had resulted in a steady decline in groundwater levels. “Earlier, groundwater was available at depths of around 50 to 100 feet. Today, in many parts of Hyderabad, it has gone down to nearly 1,000 feet. This is a matter of serious concern,” he said.Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Government was promoting rainwater harvesting on a large scale to improve groundwater recharge and ensure sustainable water availability for the city’s rapidly growing population. He stressed that rainwater harvesting had become an urgent national necessity, particularly in urban areas where excessive concretisation had drastically reduced the natural percolation of rainwater into the ground.Delivering the keynote address at a meet on climate change organised by “Symposium”, a non-profit platform bringing together leading voices from academia, civil society, government and industry on Saturday, the minister said Telangana had already begun experiencing the consequences of changing climatic conditions and warned that the state could no longer depend on historical rainfall patterns while planning its water resources.Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the govt was not waiting for the crisis to deepen before taking action. Instead, departments dealing with irrigation, agriculture, drinking water and civil supplies were coordinating contingency measures to minimise the impact on farmers and the public.
