Water scarcity forces farmer to leave paddy fields for grazing in Khammam district

KHAMMAM: Are people gripped by a sense of déjà vu already under the Congress regime in Telangana? Are they recalling the situation prevalent a decade ago? people, especially farmers of Telangana, seems to have been witnessing the conditions that prevailed in the past, one decade ago, with scarcity of water and untimely power supply with interruptions in the Congress regime.

The incident in which a farmer from Acharlagudem in Nelakondapally mandal of Khammam district has given paddy grown, at an investment of Rs. 40,000, for grazing by cattle as fodder. This indicates that the farmer has lost hopes on reaping a good crop and decided not to invest any further. Such situations were never witnessed in Telangana in the last one decade.

The farmer, identified as Chirra Lakshmaiah, has transplanted paddy on his one-and-a-half-acre farm with the hope of irrigating it with water drawn from a well.

However, with the scarcity of groundwater and lack supply of water through canals, the crop has been withering already, leaving farmer distressed.

The farmers allege that ministers have not taken necessary care to ensure the supply of irrigation water through canals. Unable to cope with the situation, they are giving up on the crop yield and are leaving the dried paddy crop to the cattle as fodder.

Lakshmaiah’s plight is just an example and there many following suit as the agriculture sector is confronting a difficult situation.

It may be recalled that Telangana’s paddy production soared from 65 lakh metric tonnes to 3 lakh metric tonnes with bountiful of crops in the last few years.

However, a grim situation is prevailing in the State.