KAKINADA: The crop holiday declared by a group of farmers in Konaseema region during Kharif is likely to reduce the area of cultivation by around 50,000 acres and paddy production by 12.50 lakh bags. The region has 1.20 lakh acres of cultivable land and 17,000 acres have been converted into fish and prawn ponds.
The farmers have declared a crop holiday in Godavari delta due to delay in payments for paddy procured by the government and poor access to irrigation water through the existing canal system. The crop holiday has been declared in 13 of the total 22 mandals of Konaseema. A major drain Kunavaram-Vasalathippa has not been desilted and the minor canals are completely covered with weeds. With this, the drain water won’t go to the sea, say, farmers.
In the last Kharif season, several mandals were submerged during the monsoon season. Kesanakurru, Thillakuppa, G Mulapalem, Yedurulanka and T Kothapalli villages in I Polavaram mandal were flooded. Ainapuram, Gadilanka, Komanapalli and Kothalanka in Mummidivaram and G Vemavaram, Neelapalli and P Mallavaram in Tallarevu mandal were affected by floods. The farmers suffered huge losses in the last Kharif season.
Meanwhile, District agriculture officer Y Anand Kumari said there is no need for a crop holiday in Konaseema. “All the pending bills related to paddy procurement have been cleared. District Collector Himanshu Shukla has been monitoring the drain cleaning works. The issues raised by the farmers are being resolved,” she averred.
Konaseema Rythu Parirakshana Sangham secretary Aithabattula Uma Maheswara Rao alleged that the government was not doing anything for solving the issues of Konaseema farmers. From August to December, the delta areas face floods due to a lack of proper drainage systems. Most of the drains were not cleared during the summer. All the major and the minor canals are filled with weeds, he said.