Thummalacheruvu drying up due to scanty rainfall

Forest cover around the lake is lost

Khammam: The famous Thummalacheruvu, the lake which was constructed during the time of the Kakatiya king Pratapa Rudra, has a hoary past. Spread over an area of 1,000 acres, the 26 feet deep lake is being used for irrigating 10,000 acres of land by 20,000 farmers. The lake is totally dependent on rain water for filling.

During the earlier centuries, when the district was covered by a thick forest area, there used to be bountiful rainfall. But the rainfall had become scanty over the decades as it lost large areas of forest cover. The lakebed has not been filled up for the last three to four years as there was deficit rainfall. Earlier the farmers, who used to cultivate two crops, were now not in a position to grow even one crop. Speaking to the media here on Thursday, some of the farmers said that though the lake is situated at a distance of five km from River Godavari, they were not in a position to utilize the river waters.

The farmers said that the late Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy assured them that lift irrigation would be provided for diverting the Godavari river water to the lake so that the farmers would be in a position to sow two crops. But till now, the promise was not fulfilled, they lamented. Although the rulers have changed, the condition of Thummalacheruvu has not changed. Even the present TRS government has not taken any serious measure to develop the lake though the NABARD has sanctioned funds worth Rs one crore.

By: Konda Srinivas