Farmers in Yedutla village in Wanaparthy sunk 120 borewells in February alone, crops, cattle suffer

WANAPARTHY: A record number of borewells were sunk in Yedutla village of Gopalpet mandal in Wanaparthy district of Telangana in February. The villagers said that over 120 borewells were sunk in the village but many failed, leaving the farmers in debt crisis after over a decade of pro-farmer Government in Telangana.

“My husband tried two borewells in our 1 acre of land spending Rs 70,000. But none of the bores yielded water. The borewell people went up to 170 feet but in vain in both spots,” Pushpa the wife of a farmer said. Her husband left home after the debacle and she is worried about his whereabouts.

Hoping for a change she voted for the Congress Government but she is worried about her future with no power at home and no money to take a chance of another borewell. “We wished that there would be free power, and water in canals and ended up in distress,” she said.

Ramesh, another farmer in the same village said that the Kalwakurthy canal used to be full during last season and is bone dry now. “We tried six borewells in two and a half acres. All of them failed. We sold our cattle we can't feed them and give them water. We purchased water for Rs 2,500 per month and can't afford that anymore,” Ramesh rued.

Ramesh’s brother who run a three-wheeler in Hyderabad stopped sending money as the free bus service to women scheme implemented by the Congress Government robbed his livelihood. “He used to send home some money, now that also stopped,” he said.

The villagers also complained that most of them have not received the ‘Rytu Bandh’ financial assistance which was a sure thing during the BRS rule. They said that if the present situation continued they would have to migrate to either Bengaluru or Mumbai to make a living like the old days.