Farmers are in trouble as drought conditions continue

Kurnool: Farmers of Kurnool district are quite worried, as the crops sown in the first rain are on the verge of drying up. If it does not rain in a week, the crops will dry up. Farmers will be forced to plough the crops and wait for rain to grow new crops. According to information, farmers have grown 60 to 70 per cent of the crop in the first rain. Most of the crops like cotton, chilli, maize, red gram, millet and others are grown as rain-fed crops. Apart from rain, the main water source for irrigation in the district is the Tungabhadra Low Level Canal (TLLC). Due to less rain in the upper areas, there has been less water in the Tungabhadra dam. The water level in the dam is currently 27.180 tmcft out of the total capacity of 105.788 tmcft. There is no way the authorities can release water until the full capacity of the dam is reached, sources said. Apart from Tungabhadra, reservoirs like Gudrevula, Pandikona, Gajula Dinna and Puliknuma besides Kurnool-Kadappa (KC) canal are the other water sources for irrigation. Almost all the reservoirs have reached dead storage and hence there is no possibility of releasing water for irrigation needs. An official source in the irrigation department has said that 70,000 hectares have been cultivated in Adoni division. Almost all the cultivated crops are drying up. Hanumanthu, a farmer of H Khairavadi village in Gonegandla mandal of Yemmiganur constituency, said that after the initial rains, he started cultivating cotton crop. However, after the initial spell, there has been no rain for the last one month. Thus, the cultivated cotton crop is gradually drying up. He said that the crop has been grown after investing a huge amount. He had also borrowed this amount at a high interest rate. If the crop dries up, he will face a huge problem. Yenumula Narasanna, another farmer of Nandavaram village in Mantralayam constituency, said he too has planted cotton crop in 5 acres. There has been no rain for the last 25 days. The TB Dam authorities have also not released water in the Low Level Canal. Narasanna said the entire crop is dependent on rain. If the crop dries up, they will be forced to migrate to remote areas for livelihood as they have no other way to survive. Migration to remote areas is the only source of earning money to repay the loans taken. He urged the concerned authorities to take steps to release water to the LLC. Many farmers in Pathikonda, Alur, Aspari and other mandals have not grown crops. They are all waiting for rain.