Acute water shortage in Godavari river is giving the delta farmers the jitters. With paddy crops facing threat of withering owing to lack of irrigation water, discontent is brewing among ryots, especially the ones at the tail-end of canals.
The West Godavari District Irrigation Advisory Board decided to ensure irrigation facility to paddy fields spreading over 4.8 lakh acres this rabi, ignoring forecasts made by the Irrigation authorities on water scarcity.
As the fear came true before the transplantation operations were completed, the district administration was forced to introduce a turn-system from January, enabling the fields to receive water from canals in shifts.
But, the system failed to please the tail-end farmers as water did not reach their fields. Now, standing crops in hundreds of acres in the tail-end mandals of Denduluru, Unguru and Pentapadu (under the Godavari Eluru main canal), Mogaltur,Yalamanchili and Palakoderu (under the Narsapur main canal) are facing the threat of withering.
Farmers from Kalagampudi, Vutada and Kaza stormed the Revenue Divisional Office in Narsapur recently, seeking water for their crops. Ryots also staged similar protests at the Collectorate, Cheukuvada under Undi, Parimella under Pentapaduand, Kovvali in Denduluru and Kaikaram in Unguturu mandals in the past one week. Despite the slew of agitations, the fields have remained parched, even after the withdrawal of the stipulated quota of water from the Sileru .
