Telangana among top five states in water body use for irrigation: Census report

Hyderabad: The first census on water bodies across the country, released by the Union Jal Shakti ministry, listed Telangana among the top five states with regard to use of water bodies in irrigation.

The state was listed along with Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat in the report that Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat released on Sunday.

The census enumerated 24,24,540 water bodies nationwide, out of which 97.1 per cent (23,55,055) were in the rural areas and 2.9 per cent (69,485) in the urban areas.

The census provided a comprehensive inventory of water resources, including natural and man-made water bodies, and collected data on the encroachment of water bodies. The census highlighted disparities between rural and urban areas and varying levels of encroachment and revealed crucial insights into water resources