It’s that time of the year when farmers get busy with kharif operations in the State, especially when there is bountiful rain. But not in the case of G. Gongaiah, who owns three acres of land at Gonglur in the district. On Thursday, he indeed went to his farm. Not to till the land or sow seeds, but to rear his cattle. He is one among many farmers who have been waiting for release of water from Singur project.
Another farmer from the neighbouring Taddanpally, K. Nagaiah, who owns 12 acres of land, has a similar story to share. “I am hoping that the authorities release water in the next three to four days from the reservoir. If not, we will be in trouble and any delay in starting the kharif operations will affect our chances of getting a good harvest,” rued Nagaiah.
Crop withering away
M. Mallesh, a farmer in the neighbouring village, is worried about his already-sown cotton crop. It has started withering away owing to lack of water. “I have already lost about 30% of the crop and if water is not released from the Singur project, I will lose the crop entirely,” he said.
“I sowed cotton as there was early rain in this part. After the initial rain, we did not receive any. If we do not get water from Singur, the cotton crop in two acres will wither and I will suffer a huge loss,” he said.
The farmers are banking on water from Singur as the State government had promised to release water to about 40,000 acres under Singur reservoir during this kharif. They had expected that the water would be released in June. No one has any knowledge of why it has been delayed.
When contacted, the officials of Irrigation Department said two tmc ft of water would be released by MLA P. Babumohan on Friday and it would continue for 180 days, till December.
On release of water for farms under the Nizam Sagar Project, the officials said they had not yet received any orders from the government in that regard.
