An elderly farmer Gandham Uppalaiah stood staring as the machines dug up silt and loaded it into tractors at Amanagal Pedda Cheruvu as part of Mission Kakatiya programme.
His face was writ large with joy.
When asked, he said: We have been waiting for this for a long time. We are dreaming for a day when our village tank gets desilted and holds more water.
Spread on 120 acres, this tank caters to irrigation, drinking and cattle needs of the village. Scores of people, including washermen and fishermen, depend on it.
“If this tank is revived, we need not worry for another ten to twenty years. This will help recharge ground water level and fill all our open wells,” says Uppalaiah.
As part of the Mission Kakatiya phase I, works on this tank were taken up with an estimate of Rs. 68 lakh to clear 45,000 cubic metres of silt.
The officials propose to transport 17,700 tractor loads of silt to agricultural fields in the village.
Equally enthusiastic, another farmer, Kaveti Sammaiah, said the silt will help increase agriculture produce.
“This silt has more nutrients and we have the experience of putting it to best use,” he says.
The officials propose to take up strengthening of bund, repair sluice and clear feeder channels as part of the ongoing works.
Bhukya Raju, a tribal farmer, says that the cattle population had gone down owing to many reasons, drinking water shortage being one of the prime reasons. If the tank becomes full, the cattle population may rise.
“If our tank is full, it will solve many problems for us,” he says.
