Telangana to hold Varuna Yagam on Aug 10 seeking monsoon rains

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy announced that a ‘Varuna Yagam’ will be performed on 10 August at the Vijaya Vihar site on the banks of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. The ritual, organized by the Endowments Department and conducted by priests and Vedic scholars from the Yadagirigutta Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, aims to invoke abundant monsoon rains, replenish the Krishna and Godavari rivers, and fill reservoirs across the state. Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said the ceremony will feature 108 rithwiks, 11 homa kundas and a concluding poornahuti at 3:24 p.m., seeking relief from the recent El Niño impact. The event follows a recent improvement in rainfall, with the state’s monsoon deficit falling from a 61 % shortfall in mid‑July to about 5 % by the end of July, according to the Telangana Development Planning Society.