farmers of Andhra Pradesh have been directed not to cultivate a second crop of rice during the winter season because of low levels of water at the Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar reservoirs of the state. "The farmers have been advised to cultivate crops which do not require a lot of water to grow,' state revenue minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju said. The state government has also asked the Union government to divert the state's surplus stocks of foodgrain to other states.

The decision not to cultivate the rabi (winter) crop was taken after analysing the water available in the two reservoirs, Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar, for irrigation purposes. The state government had earlier set a target of cultivating at least 46 lakh tonnes of rice crop during the winter season. "Water in the reservoirs is available only for one crop. Besides, there is a dry spell at present. Therefore, there will be no water available for the second crop in the winter season,' Raju added.