Owaisi writes to govt with action plan for El Nino ’emergency’

Hyderabad: With the state bracing for an El Niño-induced water crisis, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday, October 28, sent a memorandum to Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu on an action plan for “dealing with the emergency”.

Recalling a July 30 contingency action plan by the expert committee headed by Dr G. Chinna Reddy, which required an allocation of Rs 803 cr, Owaisi asked Bhatti to make no delay in implementing it.

Since Telangana bracing a water crisis due to #ElNino, we submitted a memorandum on behalf of AIMIM on an action plan for dealing with the emergency, especially in the state’s urban areas. Our emphasis is on ensuring that the vulnerable sections aren’t neglected pic.twitter.com/CWsl1FrJh3

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) October 28, 2026

He said that while he welcomes the government’s move on October 24 to declare 365 mandals drought-hit, it is “primarily a rural drought response framework” that does not contain “a dedicated urban summer action plan”. Keeping that in mind, the AIMIM chief then suggested measures to supplement this government order.

Drinking water shortage

For Hyderabad and the core urban region, he requested the government to have a drinking water plan. He suggested that the government should procure tanker capacity ‘against verified locality deficit’ while giving priority to hospitals, hostels, schools, and orphanages.

Alongside booking apps, there should be a “telephone and offline grievance route” as well, said Owaisi.

On groundwater depletion, the government must maintain a register with details such as “municipal, emergency, apartment, and bulk supply wells recording permission, location, depth, static and pumping levels, operating hours, and quality”.

He also sought the September groundwater bulletin and the latest matched-station October readings to be placed before the House and made available to the public.

Support package for farmers

On the impact on agriculture and farmer distress, the AIMIM chief suggested that if the government declares a crop holiday, it should “pair it with a concrete support package” covering compensation, seeds, inputs, alternative crops and marketing arrangements.

As part of the urban summer action plan, Owaisi said there should be drinking water kiosks along major roads, bus routes, markets, construction clusters and crowded public spaces in Hyderabad, Cyberabad, Malkajgiri, and HMDA towns. School timings must also be adjusted to start and end earlier.

He urged the Deputy Chief Minister to place the representation before the Cabinet Sub-Committee formed specifically to address drought and El Niño conditions so that necessary orders can be issued at the earliest.

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