Ryots celebrate arrival of Godavari water

A boost to kharif operations, says Kollu

Farmers on Sunday celebrated arrival of Godavari water in Bandar canal at Sitarampuram village, intensifying land preparation work for paddy cultivation.

The water that flowed down from the Godavari was released into the Bandar Canal, a tail end area in the Krishna delta.

Law Minister Kollu Ravindra and Machilipatnam Member of Parliament K. Narayana offered special prayers at Sitarampura village in the presence of a huge gathering of farmers.

“The arrival of Godavari water to Machilipatnam will speed up kharif operations, enabling harvesting of paddy before November, during which period cyclones usually hit the Machilipatnam coast,” said Mr. Ravindra.

Rally taken out

“The paddy crop can be harvested within the stipulated period four months. Release of water for kharif operations in July has become possible due to success of the Pattiseema project,” said Mr. Narayana.

Local farmers and youth took out a massive rally in the streets, marking arrival of the irrigation water on time this year.

Irrigation Water Committees Chairman Gupta Sivarama Krishna promised that the irrigation water would be supplied for three crops in the kharif and rabi seasons in 2017-18.