Telangana: Montha’s Fury: Crops Drowned, Relief Rises
Cyclone Montha barreled into coastal Andhra Pradesh on October 28, 2025, unleashing torrents that rippled into Telangana, submerging fields and homes across 12 districts. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, surveying the sodden aftermath, pegged the damage as widespread yet contained through preemptive evacuations. Over 87,000 hectares of crops lie battered, with two lives lost in Andhra Pradesh, but Telangana’s focus sharpened on farmer lifelines amid the deluge.
From Warangal to Hanumakonda, neighborhoods turned into shallow lakes, stranding families and halting harvests just as paddy bowed under the weight of readiness. Reddy’s visit on October 31 cut through the mire, blending empathy with edicts for swift aid, reminding us how nature’s whims test governance’s grit.
Relief Blueprint: Farmers First, Families Fortified
Reddy announced a robust safety net, earmarking Rs 10,000 per acre for ravaged farmlands—a direct balm for tillers watching yields wash away. Families of the deceased receive Rs 5 lakh each, while flooded homes qualify for Rs 15,000 in immediate aid, with deeper assessments eyeing Indiramma housing for the displaced.
Livestock losses won’t go unaddressed: proposals for Rs 5,000 per sheep or goat death and Rs 50,000 for cattle aim to staunch rural bleeding. Sand mining scars, too, fall under scrutiny, with orders to tally erosion and encroachments that worsened the flood’s bite.
- Key Compensation Pockets:
- Crop damage: Rs 10,000/acre
- Human fatalities: Rs 5 lakh/family
- Flooded residences: Rs 15,000/unit
- Livestock: Rs 5,000 (small)/Rs 50,000 (large)
Ground Zero: Boots in the Mud, Hearts on Sleeve
Reddy’s two-and-a-half-hour trek on October 31 wove through Hanumakonda’s Sammayyanagar and Kapuwada, then Warangal’s Potananagar, flanked by ministers like Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and Konda Surekha. In reed-thatched homes, survivors like Dabbala Latha and Salemendra Ramadevi poured out tales of lost certificates, soaked essentials, and children’s shattered routines—prompting on-the-spot pledges for duplicate documents and two-room rebuilds.
At Bhadrakali Cheruvu, locals vented 15 years of recurring woes, urging channel widening and boundary walls. Reddy nodded, tasking Warangal Commissioner Chahat Bajpai with blueprints, while Hanumakonda’s MLA Naini Rajender Reddy echoed calls for unyielding drain clearances. “No encroachments spared,” he stressed, sketching a coordination committee to sync Smart City upgrades with perennial fixes.
Earlier that day, an aerial sweep from Begumpet covered Siddipet, Hanumakonda, and Warangal, revealing patchwork fields and swollen streams from chopper height. Touching down, Reddy huddled with officials, decrying coordination gaps that amplify crises and insisting on field-level collector patrols.
Accountability Edge: No Room for Sloth
In a pointed review at Hanumakonda Collectorate, Reddy grilled seven district heads on real-time damage tallies, warning against delays that doom central fund claims. “Instant reports on rains and floods—no excuses,” he pressed, folding in public reps for grassroots data sweeps amid shifting weather patterns like cloudbursts.
Encroachment on waterways drew fire: “Clear them decisively, permanent plans now.” Proposals must funnel to Delhi via airtight formats, with lethargy earning no mercy. Attendees, from MPs Balaram Naik and Kadiyam Kavya to Mayor Gundu Sudharani, absorbed the blueprint for a responsive machinery.