Farmers in Prakasam district are demanding liberal allocation of the Krishna water as severe drought has gripped the fluoride-affected district for the fifth year in succession.
The situation is worse in the western parts of the district which witnessed dryspell in 11 of the last 15 years.
All the 56 mandals are drought hit with 45% deficit rainfall as precipitation was only 152.1 mm as against the normal rainfall of 277mm. As a result, the crop coverage was a mere 48% of the normal 2.26 lakh hectares so far.
But the saving grace is that the reservoirs across the Krishna in the State have surplussed and the farmers can expect to grow paddy in a maximum of 3.50 lakh hectares.
Agriculture Joint Director Director P.V. Sriramamurthy said the crop coverage would improve in the next fortnight or so in the district as the reservoirs across the Krishna, including Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar, had a combined storage of more than 500 tmcft of water.
The farmers in the mandals not irrigated by the Krishna could go for either black gram or cowpea, he explained, adding that the department had positioned 4,500 quintals and 3,500 quintals of subidised black gram and cowpea seeds respectively.
In other mandals, farmers could raise Bengal gram as both kharif and rabi cropping seasons overlapped in the district, which also received rains during northeast monsoon period, he said.
Red gram accounted for a maximum crop coverage of 55,692 hectares, followed by cotton in 22,983 hectares. Paddy seedlings had been raised in 3,196 hectares by farmers, he added.
With an inflow of 42,365 cusecs, the water level in Srisailam was maintained at 882 ft as against the full level of 885 ft, by releasing 53,052 cusecs downstream resulting in realisation of 14,811 cusecs in the Nagarjuna Sagar, where the level stood at 586 ft as against the full level of 590 ft.
Tail-end areas
Meanwhile, Prakasam District Development Forum president Ch.Ranga Rao urged the State government to ensure release of 80 tmcft of Krishna water from the Nagarjuna Sagar right bank canal for the farmers to grow paddy and irrigated dry crops in a maximum extent of 4.4 lakh acres.
Though the district was entitled to assured water as per the Bachawat award, in the past farmers missed out on cultivation of paddy and other crops in full extent as it was in the tail-end of the ayacut. The authorities should ensure release of water to tail-end areas in the district first, he demanded.
