Farmers in Kadam Ayacut Plant Paddy in 40,000 Acres
Irrigation officials stated that they will continue supplying water to paddy fields for the next three months. They also noted that water has been provided to an additional 15,000 acres up to Gudem, beyond the estimated coverage under the ayacut during the Rabi season.
Adilabad: Farmers under the Kadam area under irrigation (ayacut) have expressed happiness over the heavy inflows into the Kadam irrigation project following rains in the upstream areas. The project site is currently flooded with water, and irrigation officials have been releasing water into the left canal of Kadam since July 15.
According to sources, paddy has been planted in nearly 40,000 acres out of the 68,150 acres under the Kadam ayacut. It is expected that an additional 20,000 acres will be cultivated with paddy in the next 15 days.
Water from the left canal has been released since July 15 to irrigate areas under the Kadam ayacut, including Luxettipet mandal of Mancherial district. Paddy cultivation is particularly high in the mandals of Kadam, Jannaram, Dandepalli, Luxettipet, and Hajipur in the erstwhile Adilabad district.
Irrigation officials stated that they will continue supplying water to paddy fields for the next three months. They also noted that water has been provided to an additional 15,000 acres up to Gudem, beyond the estimated coverage under the ayacut during the Rabi season.
K. Ravinder, superintendent engineer (FAC for Nirmal Circle), said that farmers have been receiving uninterrupted water supply for their paddy crops over the past 15 days. He confirmed that there is sufficient water for the current kharif season but expressed uncertainty about providing water during the next Rabi season under the Kadam ayacut.
He added that the water level in the Kadam irrigation project has reached 696 feet, compared to the full level of 700 feet. Inflows are currently at 800 cusecs, with 700 cusecs being released daily into the canals. The project currently holds 3.719 TMC ft of water against its present capacity of 4.699 TMC ft.
However, the actual designed capacity of the project is 7.03 TMC ft, which has reduced due to siltation. The full storage capacity of the Kadam project is 7.6 TMC ft, and it is designed to irrigate 68,150 acres through its 18 gates.
Rajeshwar, a farmer from Dandepalli mandal, said they are receiving sufficient water for paddy this Kharif, unlike last year, and expressed hope that the water supply would continue until harvest.