P. Sainath The programme is "life-saving.' This time round, the poor have slightly more money than they did earlier. But all prices are up. Still on the margins: NREG work has seen migration levels fall sharply in Kondapur. Just three years ago, there were 40 to 45 bus services a week to Mumbai from Mahbubnagar district. This year the number is down to 28. Kondapur is deserted. It usually is, in the month of May. This village in Mahbubnagar district of Telangana falls in the belt known for some of the highest levels of migration in south India each year.

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, will lay the foundation stone for modernisation of delta at Puligadda village in Avanigadda constituency on June 6. The government has undertaken the works of modernising the canals and drains in Krishna and Guntur districts with an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crore in which Rs 2,130 crore will be spent in Krishna district. Initially, the works in some packages have been awarded to contractors and works have been going on in some sectors as summer is most ideal for completing canal works.

The dial-a-water tanker service of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is ringing in more woes than water to the residents of the twin cities. After booking, one has to wait for four days for delivery of the tanker containing 5,000 litre which costs Rs 250.

P. Sainath The complaints are many and often justified. People are sometimes exasperated by the way the NREGA system works. But there is unanimity on its worth and value. Gadasu Ramulu, past 70: Hunger and rising prices are driving the old and the very young to work. In the time of crisis, NREGA work is their lifeline. He says he is not 70 but is, in fact, "quite a few years older.' "Anyway, how can I tell exactly?'

The farmers of three mandals of Tirumalayapalem, Khammam Rural and Kusumanchi, who were not getting irrigation water to their fields through the stage two of Sriramsagar Project demanded water from Rajivsagar Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) or from Krishna-Godavari link canal project.

Efforts to bring the dying aquaculture sector back onto the rails through an alternative to the virus hit tiger variety shrimp has been facing stiff opposition from aqua farmers across the coast. The Union government had allowed select hatcheries to conduct trials on white shrimp known as L.Vannamei about five years ago when tiger shrimp was plagued by various problems including a poor market rate.

The shrimp farmers in the country, especially in Andhra Pradesh, should not cultivate, or culture P. Monodon alone as there is a shift in the international market, and they should take up culture of L.Vannamei as well on a large scale, according to Mr L. Sa-tyanarayana, the President of the All-India Shrimp Hatcheries' Association (AISHA). He was addressing a press conference here on Monday.

Hardly a month is left for the arrival of thousands of birds from Siberia and other parts of the world to Uppalapadu bird sanctuary in Guntur district but the renovation and repair works at the sanctuary are going at a snail's pace. Funds crunch is one of the main reasons for the poor condition of the bird sanctuary which is the second in importance in south coastal districts. About 10,000 birds from various countries take refuge at the sanctuary every year. The birds will start arriving in June and will stay there till March next.

The prevalence of filaria has declined in East Godavari district as health authorities have intensified a drive to contain it. Its prevalence was recorded at 2.8 per cent in 1995 and it came down to 0.27 in 2006. Health authorities collected 19,640 blood smears from January 1 to April 30 in 2008 and found 26 micro-filaria positive cases coming up to 0.13 per cent and 36 filaria diseases which come up to 0.18 per cent. More filaria cases were noticed in Amalapuram and Rama-chandrapuram municipalities and some cases from Biccavole and other areas in the district.