VIJAYAWADA: In a major relief to farmers in the Krishna delta region, widespread rainfall is expected across the erstwhile Krishna district for the next six days, raising hopes for parched farmlands.
The showers, triggered by an upper air cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal, which may intensify into a depression, began on Thursday evening with light to moderate rainfall reported in several areas.
Tail-end farmers, particularly those in Pedana, Machilipatnam, and parts of Gudivada and Pamarru Assembly constituencies, have been grappling with severe water scarcity. Although the State government began releasing water from Prakasam Barrage into the Krishna canal system on June 15, the supply has yet to reach many tail-end lands, leaving thousands of hectares of paddy fields on the verge of drying up.
As of July 17, irrigation officials are releasing a total of 13,361 cusecs of water: 4,717 cusecs to the Ryves Canal, 2,190 to Bandar, 1,404 to Eluru, and 3,506 to Krishna West Canal. Despite the efforts, farmers say the supply remains insufficient.
“Our paddy fields are drying at the seedling stage. There’s no water in the minor canals (panta kaluvalu), which are essential for our crops. Many of us are forced to run motors to pump water, increasing our costs,” Sonti Ramu, a farmer from Kuduru in Pedana mandal, told TNIE.
Farmers typically cultivate paddy over 5.2 lakh acres in the region, 4 lakh acres in Krishna district, and 1.2 lakh acres in NTR district. This season, paddy has been transplanted in about 94,000 acres, while broadcasting methods were adopted in more than 2 lakh acres, mostly in tail-end and suburban areas.
Speaking to TNIE, Krishna District Irrigation SE Mohan Rao affirmed that the water is being released at full canal capacity and warned that further increases could damage canal banks. “We are coordinating with upstream farmers and hoping the expected rainfall will ease the crisis,” he said.