Farmers demand release of water till February-end

Kurnool: Demanding the government for release of irrigation water up to February, farmers of Peddakadbur mandal have staged a rasta roko near mandal Tahsildar office here on Thursday.

CPM mandal secretary Thikkanna said that several farmers in the mandal have incurred huge loss during Kharif season as almost all the crops got withered due to scanty rainfall. Farmers did not get even the investment. He said farmers borrowed amount on high interest rates from money lenders to invest in farming.

But due to the withering of the crops, they couldn’t repay the loans. Stating that money lenders were pressurising the farmers to repay the amount along with the interest, the CPM leader demanded the government to pay Rs 50,000 per acre towards crop compensation.

Rythu Sangam leader Paramesh said farmers, who incurred loss diromg Kharif, again took up farming for Rabi. ‘Almost all crops are at yielding stage and needs two to three wets. It may take another one month to harvest the crops,’ he said. Paramesh urged the government officials to release water to low level canal (LLC) from Pulikanuma project up to February end. If the water is not released to LLC, the standing crops will wither, throwing the farmers into deep troubles, leaving them with no other way except to commit mass suicides, he said.