Cries for water fall on official deaf ears

Gadwal: The plight of farmers from Ija mandal who have been fighting for 40 days staging protests and giving representations to the Irrigation authorities to release canal water to the local lakes in Ija mandal has fallen on deaf years.

Aggrieved over the insensitive attitude of the irrigation officials, the farmers on Ija mandal finally met with Sampath Kumar, Congress MLA from Alampur to resolve their issues. Over this, Sampath Kumar along with a group of farmers staged a protest in front of Gadwal district Collector and demanded release of irrigation water to save their drying crops who assured farmers justice.

Going into the details of the issue, it is said that prior to 2009, the Ija farmers used to get water from Mucchonipally reservoir and all the local lakes in Ija mandal used to be filled which would serve the irrigation needs of the Ija farmers.

However, now the farmers are alleging that after the Mucchonipally reservoir was restored and reconstructed to store additional capacity of water, they have not received any water inflows from the reservoir to fill their lakes.

Aggrieved over this the farmers have been agitating for 40 days but no irrigation official or the concerned district officials have heeded to their problems. “Since 2009, the farmers of Ija are facing severe irrigation water crises.

Over the past 9 years majority agriculture fields in Ija have turned into barren as canal water has completely stopped. We have taken up this issue with the District Collector and discussed on it. We have received a positive response and hoping that the farmers issue will be resolved soon,” said Sampath Kumar, Alampur MLA.

However, there are allegations that some ruling party leaders in Gadwal district colluding with irrigation officials are depriving irrigation water to the Ija farmers. During the past 9 years the lands in and around Ija mandal have become dried and turned barren.

The ground water table has also drastically gone down. “The ruling party leaders hand in glove with the irrigation officials are showing partiality and not releasing water to Ija mandal. The malicious intent and politically motivated decisions of the irrigation officials is not correct. We will fight until we get our share of water to Ija,” said the agitating farmers.

The district Collector of Gadwal K. Shashank assured the farmers that within two days the problems of Ija farmers will be solved and assured them that the lakes in Ija mandal will be filled with irrigation water.