NALGONDA: Owing to the unavailability of Godavari waters from the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), the land in Suryapet district has become unsuitable for seed sowing. Previously, farmers grew many crops, including paddy, with the help of Godavari waters, but this time, the region faced scarcity due to damages to the KLIS’s Medigadda barrage and other associated projects.
Approximately 2 lakh acres of agricultural land under the project are affected as farmers are unable to cultivate even 50% of the land during the Yasangi season. Over the past few years, Godavari waters were diverted into canals through the KLIS, due to which groundwater levels increased. Some farmers utilised water from canals, while others relied on borewells for crop cultivation.
Due to lack of KLIS waters, canals in several villages within the Suryapet district have dried up. Approximately 30% of the farmers in the district are grappling with depleted groundwater, resulting in a lack of water in their borewells.
N Danunjaiah, a farmer from Vempati village in Tungathurthi mandal, told TNIE that he used to cultivate crops two to three times a year on his four acres of agricultural land with canal water. This time, however, he finds it challenging to grow even one crop on a one-acre portion. Another farmer expressed concerns about sowing crops with the expectation of canal water, only to find that water is now scarce, forcing him to resort to water tankers to save the crops.
Under the Nagarjuna Sagar project (NSP), the agriculture department anticipates limited cultivation during Yasangi due to water scarcity. District agriculture officials estimate that out of the projected 5,81,000 acres of crops in Yasangi, including 5 lakh acres for paddy and the remaining for commercial crops, only 90,330 acres have been sown two months into the season. Paddy cultivation covers 72,836 acres.
Farmers are eager to plant paddy on an additional 1,50,000 acres, but concerns persist as there is insufficient water in the NSP canal, and crops sown are at risk of drying up due to the lack of water in borewells.