Khammam farmers create holes in NSP canal bed to water crops

There are around 2.20 lakh acres of land under the NSP left canal in the district.

Khammam: Farmers in the district are in a distressed state with drought like conditions prevailing and non-release of water in NSP canals. As crop holiday has been declared for Yasangi crops this year keeping in view the scarcity of water in Nagarjuna Sagar Project the farmers who took up rabi crops in this season depending on tanks in trouble as majority of tanks dried up.

There are around 2.20 lakh acres of land under the NSP left canal in the district. With tanks and bore wells drying up the farmers are letting their cattle to graze in the farms fields. Crops like maize are withering due to lack of irrigation.

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Many farmers are digging holes in the NSP canal bed to draw water through irrigation pump sets as a last resort to feed the crops, but they could not get enough water. The situation is very bad and farmers are suffering losses, said a farmer M Lingaiah of Tirumalayapalem.

“The farmers are facing this kind of situation after 10 years and never faced shortage for irrigation water as the previous BRS government ensured supply of water in all crop seasons. The water drawn from the holes in the canal is not sufficient to feed the crops ” he noted.

The same was the opinion of another farmer Daravath Lalu, who said the farm fields which used to be alive and green even in peak summer are now withering before the suffer reached its peak.

Tenant Farmers Association state president S Rama Rao of Kallur said he used to take 20 acres of land every year to cultivate crops but this year he could not cultivate crops due to lack of sufficient irrigation water.