Water Crisis Forces Telangana Farmers to Migrate for Work

Agricultural workers across Telangana are leaving their villages for other states as severe water shortages and crop failures make farming unsustainable. The migration wave has particularly intensified in Gadwal and Sangareddy districts, with entire families including students and elderly residents departing for Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The situation marks a reversal from recent years when Telangana farmers had begun hiring workers from other states and local residents had returned to their fields. Now, those same landowners and laborers are traveling to cities like Raichur, Mumbai, and Belagavi to find employment in rice mills, cotton processing facilities, and construction projects.

In Jogulamba Gadwal district, small farmers who cultivated cotton, chili, and groundnut on rain-dependent lands watched their crops wither without adequate water. The crisis became tragically visible when three farm laborers died in October after a truck struck their tractor as approximately 35 villagers traveled to Karnataka seeking work.

The distress has reached areas where seasonal migration was previously uncommon. Local observers estimate that nearly 60 percent of residents from 160 settlements in Narayankhed constituency are now leaving for other regions. State appeals to farmers to avoid planting during the upcoming Yasangi season have raised concerns that migration could intensify further in coming months.