Rabi Operations Progressing Well in Telangana

 Hyderabad: With sufficient water and prediction of good weather, Rabi operations are progressing well in the state with 25.61 lakh acres sown.

Excess rainfall has been recorded in 17 districts and normal rain in 16 districts. The cumulative storage in all the major reservoirs is 724.62 tmc ft as on January 8. Last year, the storage at this time was 426.35 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft).

Telangana normally receives 14 per cent of its annual rainfall from the northeast monsoon (October-December), or 113.20 mm. Rainfall in the period was 86.6 mm, a deviation of minus-23.50 per cent.

Overall, the rainfall received in Telangana from June 1, 2024, to January 8, 2025, was 1,049.20 mm as against the normal of 853.10 mm, an excess of 23 per cent.

The groundwater level which had fallen to 10.36 metres below ground level (mbgl) in April 2024 improved to 6.72 mbgl in December. This is 0.08 mgbl above the level of last year.

The state has the potential to reap a bumper harvest in the Rabi season with good water reserves.

Adilabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Jangaon, Khammam, Jogulamba Gadwal and Nagarkurnool districts have witnessed maximum sowing of above 50 per cent. Maize, a major crop in the state along with other crops like jowar, black gram and groundnut have had sowing of above 75 per cent in normal cropping acreage.

Paddy, another major crop along with wheat, korra (millet), cow gram, safflower and sunflower have so far been sown in less than 50 per cent by 8 January, 2025.

The meteorological department is projecting above-normal rainfall over Telangana during January to March 2025. Below-normal minimum temperatures are likely over the state during January 2025.