*Rayalaseema in Drought but Naidu Govt in event mode: YSRCP*

Tadepalli/Rayachoti, Oct 2: Former Minister Kurasala Kannababu and YSRCP State General Secretary Gadikota Srikanth Reddy said the coalition government has abandoned drought-hit Rayalaseema farmers while spending heavily on publicity under the banner of “Rising Rayalaseema” and a ₹1 lakh crore horticulture hub.

Kannababu said the government delayed drought declaration despite conditions becoming severe much earlier and described the Madanapalle horticulture programme as another event-management exercise. He said the 2026–27 Budget allocated only ₹1,123 crore to the entire Horticulture Department and just ₹200 crore for the proposed hub, while there was no clarity on the private investors, the proposed ₹60,000 crore private investment or the claimed World Bank funding. He compared the announcement with Chandrababu’s earlier publicity around Hyperloop, bullet trains, seaplanes, Airbus, Lockheed, Alibaba data centres and other projects that failed to materialise.

He said Rayalaseema was facing severe drought, with 186 of the 388 drought-declared mandals located in the region and 159 of the 283 severe-drought mandals also falling there. He said rainfall deficits between June and September were 63.1% in Annamayya, 56.6% in Sri Sathya Sai, 47.3% in Chittoor, 46% in YSR Kadapa, 42% in Kurnool and 42.2% in Nandyal. He said nearly seven lakh borewells had dried up by August, mango and citrus orchards were withering and farmers were using tankers to save plantations.

Srikanth Reddy said the government had no contingency plan despite severe rainfall deficit and crop distress. He said tomato prices had collapsed to ₹30–₹40 per 15-kg box, while chilli, onion, banana, citrus and mango growers were also struggling without remunerative prices. Farmers were drilling borewells up to 800 feet without finding water, while crop insurance, input subsidy and fodder support had been neglected.

The YSRCP leaders demanded immediate re-assessment of drought-hit mandals, rescheduling of crop loans, restoration of free crop insurance, input subsidy, fodder support, ₹25,000 per acre compensation for damaged crops and ₹15,000 per acre for unsown land. They said the government should stop publicity-driven events and immediately announce a comprehensive drought relief programme for Rayalaseema farmers.