Adilabad farmers turn to diesel engines amid rainfall deficit

Scanty rainfall and reduced power supply have forced farmers in erstwhile Adilabad district to hire or buy diesel and petrol engines to irrigate crops. The additional expense is adding to their financial burden amid drought-like conditions.

Adilabad: Farmers are being forced to rely on diesel engines, once a major source of drawing water from wells, streams and tanks, to irrigate crops following scanty rainfall.

While the actual rainfall in Adilabad district was 680 mm against the normal rainfall of 1,000 mm, Nirmal district recorded 710 mm against its normal rainfall of 980 mm from June 1 to October 1. Both Adilabad and Nirmal districts recorded rainfall deficits of 35 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively. The significant dip in rainfall can be attributed to the El Nino pattern.

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Similarly, the supply of electricity for agricultural needs has been slashed drastically. Farmers are now getting electricity for seven hours a day. Interruptions in power supply have become a routine affair. Farmers are taking to the streets, seeking quality power for farming. The BRS government used to provide free, round-the-clock power to agricultural fields.

Farmers are exploring ways to irrigate paddy, cotton and other crops that are on the verge of withering due to inadequate rainfall during this agricultural season. They are now compelled to use engines run on either diesel or petrol to extract water from agricultural wells, nearby streams and tanks in a desperate attempt to save their crops, while facing additional financial implications.

The farmers said they were hiring engines by paying Rs 300 per hour. They regretted that relying on this method was costing them around Rs 5,000 per acre. Some of them are buying new engines, spending around Rs 50,000 per unit. However, hiring or purchasing engines is causing an additional financial burden on farmers.

Oil engines had become outdated and had been set aside by a majority of farmers over a period of time. But farmers are now competing with each other to hire the engines from their colleagues, considering the drought-like conditions prevailing across the erstwhile Adilabad district. They are willing to pay hefty rentals, if required. This unprecedented scenario reflects the pitiable plight of farmers hit by the crisis.

Recently, the government declared 45 mandals as drought-affected across the erstwhile Adilabad district. Twenty mandals in Adilabad, 11 in Nirmal, nine in Nirmal and five in Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts figured among the drought-affected mandals.