States » SouthPosted at: Oct 2 2026 5:38PM


AP: 388 mandals in 21 districts declared as drought affected

Vijayawada, Oct 2 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh government has declared 388 mandals in 21 districts as drought affected for the kharif season due to the El Nino effect. Chief Secretary G Sai Prasad declared the drought-affected mandals here today.
Of the total 388 drought-affected mandals, 283 are severely affected while 105 mandals are moderately affected.

Sai Prasad, who is also Principal Secretary of Disaster Management, said that drought is severe in the combined Guntur, Prakasam district and Rayalaseema region.
North Andhra districts of Vizinagaram and Anakapalli are also affected by drought under the influence of El Nino.
In fact, the drought hit mandals were to be declared by October 21.

However, the drought-affected mandals were declared in advance as 53.4 pc rainfall deficit was recorded during the months of June, July and August. Furthermore, the Drought Confirmation Committee proposed to declare the drought affected mandals early.

The important factors taken into consideration to declare drought affected mandals are: availability of water in the reservoirs, the longevity of the dry spell, moisture in the atmosphere, and availability of underground water resources. The proposals sent by the district Collectors were also discussed.

Out of the total 688 mandals, 388 mandals were declared as drought-affected.
The 388 mandals are located in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, East Godavari, Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu, Prakasam, Markapuram, Kurnool, Nandyala, Anantapur, Sri Satya sai, Kadapa, Annamayya and Chittoor districts.

Highest number of 28 severe-drought affected mandals are in Sri Satya Sai district, 27 mandals are in Anantapur district, 26 mandals in Nandyal district, 25 mandals in Annamayya district, 24 in Chittoor district, 22 in Anakapalli district and 19 severely drought affected mandals are in Markapuram district.
The Chief Secretary directed the district Collectors to take steps to provide farm loans to the farmers in the drought-hit mandals.
UNI DP RN
Tags: #AP: 388 mandals in 21 districts declared as drought affected
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