Farmers demand Kadem dam water supply for crops till November 30

Farmers from Rampur and Thimmapur villages staged a road blockade in Jannaram mandal, demanding that water from the Kadem dam be supplied for irrigation until November 30. They warned of crop losses, financial distress and intensified protests after irrigation officials decided to stop water supply for agriculture from November 7 to conserve water for drinking needs.

Mancherial: Farmers demanded that water should be supplied from Kadem dam for agriculture requirements till November 30. They staged a sit-in on a road at Thimmapur village in Jannaram mandal on Thursday.

Farmers from both Rampur and Thimmapur regretted that farmers cultivating paddy and other crops at the tail-end of the dam had reached the booting stage and they would incur huge losses if water was not supplied. They said that they would not be able to repay loans and witness a financial crisis, driving them to die by suicide.

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The agitating farmers wanted the government to supply water from the dam till November 30. They urged Irrigation officials to review their decision to reserve water for drinking needs by stopping supply for agriculture requirements from November 7. They said that they would intensify a stir against the government if their demand was not considered.

On Wednesday, Chintaguda villagers too staged a similar protest seeking water supply from Kadem dam for tail-end agriculture fields. They expressed concern over saving crops from getting withered at the booting stage. They later submitted a representation to Irrigation officials requesting them water till December 5.

On November 3, Irrigation officials declared that water would not be supplied from Kaddam Narayana Reddy project or Kadem dam to agriculture needs from November 7, considering the needs of drinking water in the ensuing summer and in the wake of El Nino pattern.The water level of the project is currently at 693.635 feet or 211.3 tmcs as against the storage capacity of 3.495 tmcs.