Finance Minister Eatala Rajender has cautioned farmers of upper and lower reaches of Lower Manair Dam (LMD) to be cautious of the propaganda launched by the Opposition parties against the Government.
Mr. Rajender asserted that the Government was trying out all options to provide water from the SRSP for wetting the standing crop and the Irrigation Department officials had been frequently visiting the field and inspecting the release of water to the standing crop. The Minister convened a meeting of elected representatives and MLAs of erstwhile Karimnagar district on the supply of water to the standing crop.
He said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had positively responded to a request from the farmers of the district and directed officials to release water from Singur to the SRSP for four lakh acre ayacut in the upper reaches of the LMD, crops in Adilabad through Saraswati Canal and for another two lakh acres in Karimnagar and Nizamabad districts. However, farmers were overdrawing water from the allocated share due to the 24-hour power supply assured to them by the Government.
The Government had prepared action plan to ensure that drinking water needs of these districts were catered to and at the same time, the irrigation needs were also met. Farmers in the SRSP ayacut should therefore cooperate with the Government in ensuring that water reached the last acre of the ayacut under the project so that the entire standing crop was protected.
