Farmers in Khammam want ‘warabandi’ relaxed to feed tail-end crops under NSP ayacut

Farmers are raising concerns that agricultural lands at the tail end of NSP’s major and minor canals are not receiving adequate water. Rabi crops are wilting due to insufficient irrigation, and the situation is expected to worsen as summer intensifies.

Khammam: Warabandi (rotational system for releasing water) being practiced by irrigation officials in releasing water to crops in several mandals in the district has been troubling the farmers.

The farmers are complaining that agricultural lands at the tail end of NSP’s major and minor canals are unable to get sufficient water. The rabi crops are withering due to lack of irrigation and the situation would become worse after summer gets intensified.

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Speaking to Telangana Today Telangana Rythu Sangham district secretary Bonthu Rambabu rabi crops in over 2,500 acres of tail end lands under NSP ayacut in Yerrupalem, Kallur, Bonakal, Chintakani, Penuballi and Tallada are facing shortage of water.

He wanted the irrigation officials to relax the warabandi. At present water is being released every alternate week. Water should be supplied for two weeks and stop for one week otherwise there is a risk of drying up of crops, which might affect the farmers severely.

Farmers are also facing difficulties due to reduced water in ponds and tanks as well as wells. Ponds and tanks in the district should be filled with Sagar water to feed the crops and farmers should be educated about precautions to be taken to avoid water wastage.

Canals like Rapalle major are dried up. Farmers are trying to protect the crops by using oil engines to pump water from faraway places resulting in increased financial burden on them. In the current rabi season, crops are cultivated in a larger area than the last season, Rambabu noted.

Maize crop is at the seed bearing stage now. This would increase the need for irrigation water. The pressure on irrigation water would increase as the intensity of the summer increases. The sangham leaders have recently met irrigation CE Ramesh Babu and asked him to take immediate steps to relax warabandi.

The ongoing dispute among Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over the allocation of Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar water in the Krishna basin should be resolved immediately amicably. If the Centre is allowed to intervene the issue would become complicated, Rambabu suggested.