Farmers hopes wither as rains play truant

Mahbubnagar: With scanty monsoon rains witnessed during the past two months, the farming community across erstwhile Mahbubnagar district has lost its hopes of getting good yields this Kharif season.

The most hit are the paddy farmers who completely depend on rains and canal water for cultivation. They fear that if they do not see any good rains next 15-20 days they would completely lose their hopes for paddy this season.

"As it is already more than one and half months having witnessed on set of monsoons across the country, unfortunately the Mahbubnagar district is facing dry spells and till date there is no adequate rains to fill lakes, tanks, ponds and wells in the district.

It was only one or two spells in the 3rd week of June that helped start the dry crop sowing activity in the district where only a few people have dared to sow dry crops like jowar, cotton, pulses, caster and maize, that apart, there is no activity being taken up sowing the paddy crops this season," said Banavath Narasimha Nayak from Korlakunta village of Veepanagandla mandal in Wanaparthy district.

The areas of Veepanagandla, Kottakota and Pangal depending on either rains or canal water for sowing paddy, or else they leave their lands barren during rainy season and focus on sowing groundnut after 4-5 months later during the onset of Rabi season.

According to metrological department statistics, by June and July months the average rainfall in the district should have been between 300 to 500 mm, but so far it has not even crossed 100 mm across erstwhile Mahabunagar district.

"By this time Jurala project should have received inflows, but due to lack of rains in the upper catchment areas we are facing lack of inflows, but we are confident very soon Jurala will get good flows, as the Upper Almatti is getting good rains and is about to become full in the next one week.

Once the water is released from Almatti, it will reach Narayanpur dam and then will release into Jurala," hoped Agriculture Minister Niranjan Reddy.

In Mahbubnagar district only about 25-30 per cent of acreage area has become active that too for the dry crops, however the farmers fear of drying up even the dry crop as there is no adequate rain to sustain the dry crops.

"I have sown cotton over 6 acres, however, now the crop is in the germination stage but with no rains since past 20 days I fear I may loss all the crop," said Amgoth Jayaram, of Shankarayapally village.

Overall the entire erstwhile Mahbubnagar district farmers are under the grip of fear that if they do not see adequate rains in the next days to come, it will hit hard for the paddy farmers and this Kharif the paddy output may witness low yields across the district.