It appears farmers in the remote areas under the Kanupuru and Kavali canals have no respite from the perennial water woes during cropping seasons, as lack of an assured irrigation source has been taking a toll on their harvest every year.
This year, it is no different situation for the ryots, even as farmers’ associations have been raising the issue at every possible forum, voicing the concerns of the farmers there.
Crops in as many as 40,000 acres under both the Kanupuru and Kavali canals are in dire need of water. The Confederation of Indian Farmers’ Associations (CIFA) district unit has taken up the issue with the district level officials. CIFA district general secretary Chirasani Koti Reddy said that the farmers in these areas had completed transplantation of various crops including paddy two months ago, but there had been no indications so far that water would be provided to meet the crop needs. In another two months, the crops would come up for harvesting and this became a matter of immediate concern for the farmers.
The farmers’ leaders also expressed concern over what they described as lack of sufficient urea supply which was causing lot of problems for them. Recently, Collector M. Janaki issued instructions to the officials following which there was some improvement at the ground level. The CIFA leaders said that enough supply of urea had not reached the farmers societies in villages following which the ryots had to purchase the same at far higher rates from open market.
When the agriculture officials said that the farmers were using more than the urea required, the CIFA leaders clarified that only some farmers were resorting to such practice and all the farmers could not be blamed for the same. Mr. Koti Reddy also requested the officials to provide more information on the subsidised scheme for installation of solar pump-sets as decided by the government.
