Vijayawada: After two consecutive crop holidays, farmers of Krishna delta are gearing up to cultivate paddy in the current rabi season.
Following the state government’s nod for paddy cultivation and instructions, officials of the Krishna irrigation department are making arrangements to release water for irrigation needs of the delta, most probably from December 20.
According officials, the state government has allocated about 50 TMC of water for the entire Krishna delta.
However, irrigation experts believe that 50 TMC of water is not sufficient for cultivating about 5.5 lakh acres in the rabi season under the limits of Krishna, Guntur, West Godavari, and Prakasam districts.
The experts say that the allocated water can only cater to the needs of Krishna eastern delta. “How can the officials manage the allotment of water for western delta and Guntur channel?” wondered an irrigation expert.
Meanwhile, farmers of the three districts are making arrangements to cultivate paddy, maize, black gram and pulses in the rabi season. A majority of the farmers are eagerly waiting for rabi season to begin as almost 50 per cent of their crop was damaged by the recent cyclones and heavy rains recently. As per official reports, paddy fields in nearly seven lakh of the 14 lakh acres were damaged in the kharif season.
Meanwhile, the Krishna district irrigation department additional superintending engineer said that all the arrangements have been made for release of water after December 20. Contractors have been told to clear canals and channels which are undergoing repairs.
