Sheep grazing on the dried up paddy fields and cows grazing on the withering maize crop reflect the grim situation of Kharif season in this mandal, one that never witnessed a drought in the past three decades.
"I stopped my studies in 1978 and took up agriculture. I saw dry seasons but never such as this where there was no rain and no ground water," rues Chinnala Dhanunjaya of Lyabarthi village whose three acre paddy crop is fast withering.
Madha Venkataiah, an elderly farmer who lost 2.5 acres of paddy crop said that for one full year there was no rain. "My fields are brittle and all seedlings perished. Even if there is rain, there is no hope of reviving my crop as the good time is already past," he lamented.
"Those who have borewells are finding it difficult to harvest water for three to four hours continuously as they lie depleted. The water that is pumped is not adequate to wet one acre completely," he said.
Perala Sampath Rao who sowed maize in one acre and cotton in two acres has lost all hope and has allowed his cows to consume the withering maize crop.
According to Dhananjaya, the sowing season was over and even all that could be salvaged if it rained in the next two days would be insufficient to recover the investment. Wardhannapet mandal is normally endowed with ground water and canal water. However, both failed to hold promise this time leaving the farmers in lurch.
