Farmers’ prospects dwindle in erstwhile Karimnagar

Crops wither away owing to heat wave conditions and depleting groundwater level

The dry paddy crop at Ippalapalli village in Veenavanka mandal in Karimangar district on Sunday.

The prevailing heat wave conditions and depleting groundwater level have led to standing crops withering away in various parts of the erstwhile Karimnagar district, causing farmers to worry over their prospects.

They took up large-scale cultivation of paddy given the availability of water in SRSP and LMD reservoirs. But the government could not provide water to the command areas owing to reduced water levels in the reservoirs in the later days. Though the government released the available water, it did not reach the tail-end farmers as it was pilfered by farmers in the upper region.

The other irrigation sources such as wells and bore-wells were insufficient to protect the standing crops. Though the farmers resorted to deepening their wells spending a huge amount, they failed to get enough water for their entire crop area. As of now, each farmer has lost ₹25,000 per acre for cultivating paddy.

Rythu Ikya Vedika district president M. Venkat Reddy, who cultivated paddy in eight acres of land at Challur village in Veenavanka mandal, said the crop in his two-and-a-half acres has withered away due to non-availability of water from SRSP canals. He alleged that during the Assembly elections, the State government had released water from the SRSP for irrigation without any need for it.

“Had the government released water judiciously during the last khariff, there would not have been any crisis now and the standing crops could have been protected,” he said.

Compensation sought

Demanding that the officials from the Agriculture Department visit their fields to enumerate the losses and submit a report to the State government for compensation, he urged the government to provide a compensation of ₹25,000 per acre to each farmer.

Meanwhile, CPI district secretary K. Ramgopal Reddy along with a delegation inspected the crops in Chigurumamidi mandal and interacted with the farmers.

He also urged the State government to take measures to enumerate the losses suffered by the farmers and compensate them immediately.