Paddy farmers badly hit due to scanty rainfall in Srikakulam district

Paddy farmers badly hit due to scanty rainfall in Srikakulam district
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Paddy farmers badly hit due to scanty rainfall in Srikakulam district

Highlights

Condition of crops during the current kharif season in Srikakulam is miserable due to scanty rainfall. Mainly paddy farmers were facing problems due to inadequate supply of water to the crop and as it needs more water than other crops.

Srikakulam: Condition of crops during the current kharif season in Srikakulam is miserable due to scanty rainfall. Mainly paddy farmers were facing problems due to inadequate supply of water to the crop and as it needs more water than other crops.

Due to lack of normal rainfall, water is not available for crops in upland mandals and tail-end areas. Agriculture cultivation in the district mainly depends upon major and medium irrigation projects like Vamsadhara reservoir, Gotta barrage, Thotapalli reservoir and barrage, Madduvalasa reservoir, Narayanapuram anicut and other minor irrigation projects.

In the wake of scanty rainfall, water is not being released sufficiently from these projects for irrigation purpose. As a result, crops are getting damaged under the dry weather conditions.

Out of the total 38 mandals in the district, 23 mandals received below normal rainfall and only 15 mandals received normal rainfall. Ponduru, G Sigadam, Etcherla, Rajam, Regidi, Palakonda, Vangara, Laveru, Ranastalam, Amudalavalasa, Burja, Sarubujjili and several other mandals received less rainfall during the current monsoon season in the district.

Due to lack of rains, farmers have resorted direct sowing method instead of transplantation of paddy saplings to save time and water. As water is not sufficiently available to the paddy crops, these farm fields are getting dried up.

TDP State president K Kala Venkata Rao and district president G Sirisha expressed serious concern over the long dry spell in the district and demanded that the government to declare entire Srikakulam district as drought-hit district. District convener of Rythu Swarajya Vedika, Beena Dhilli Rao, and Rythu Sangham president B Appala Naidu asked the government to provide compensation to farmers who lost their crops during current monsoon season.

The crop has been damaged in more than half of the paddy cultivated area due to the dry spell, explained Joint Director for Agriculture K Sridhar.

"We are adopting a schedule to release water from all projects in the wake of dry spell," said Irrigation executive engineer G Srinivasa Rao.

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