Hyderabad, Aug 20 (IANS): Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday expressed happiness that Mahabubnagar district, which used to have starvation deaths and labour migration, has become an international showcase for greenery.

Water for irrigation through several projects constructed by the Telangana government have turned the arid land into a fertile one and there is greenery everywhere with abundant crops.

He said it was a moment of happiness to note that Mahabubnagar district which once had arid land, rocks and hills now has greenery and is making rapid strides in development.

KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, stated this when TRS MP J Santosh Kumar and minister T Srinivas Goud called on him and received a memento from him given by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Mahabubnagar district entered Guinness World Records for preparing seed balls on a record scale and forming the longest sentence with the seed balls.

The CM congratulated the MP and minister for their efforts. He also congratulated Mahabubnagar district's women self-help groups for preparing 2.08 crore seed balls in a record 10 days' time and for spraying them on hills, upland areas in a month's time to achieve more greenery at less cost.

KCR lauded the efforts of the Mahabubnagar district administration and Palamuru Zilla Mahila Samakya in setting a new Guinness Record for the largest seed ball sentence compromising 73,918 seed balls as part of the Green India Challenge and Haritha Haram.