JAGTIAL: Farmers in Malyala and Kodimyal mandals of the district are laying pipelines with their own money to lift water from the SRSP Flood Flow Canal to irrigate their fields. Even though the canal is close to their fields, many farmers’ lands are higher than the canal and hence don’t receive water.
For the past few years, farmers of nine villages from the two mandals within the Choppadandi Assembly constituency have been running pillar to post and requesting authorities and the government for a solution, but in vain. Finally, farmers raised Rs 2 crore funds among themselves to lay pipelines to lift water from the SRSP.
They expressed surprise that the government is able to lift water from Kaleshwaram to long distances, but is not distributing SRSP water to just the adjacent villages. They lamented that though they scarified part of their lands for the construction of the canal, their remaining lands are not getting water for irrigation.
Farmers from the villages of Maddutla, Gorre Gundam, Ogulapur, Nookapalli, Ramannapeta, Potharam, Rajram, Rampur and Gollpalli are getting a pipeline laid to lift water from the Flood Flow Canal.
“Each farmer is bearing an expenditure of nearly Rs 2 lakh to lay the pipeline connecting the canal to their fields and to install pump sets,” said Thogiti Thirumalesh, a farmer from Maddutla. About 2.5 km of the pipeline from Ramannpeta to Gorregudem has been laid, while it is still in progress at other stretches.Farmers further say that local MLA Sunke Ravi Shankar brought the issue to the notice of the government, but till now, no action has been taken. They hope that the government acts at least before the next cycle of crops.