Kakinada: Rabi paddy crop in two erstwhile East and West Godavari districts, which form into five districts at present, is facing a severe water scarcity this season. According to sources, 4 to 5 lakh acres of the crop is facing this problem in Kakinada, Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema, Eluru, the East and West Godavari districts this year.
Paddy is being cultivated as a second crop in nearly one million acres in the five districts.
Last year also, there was a water scarcity for the second crop, but some water left in the Polavaram Project was drawn to mitigate the problem. This year, there was no water in the Polavaram Project.
Irrigation head workers executive engineer Kasi Visweswara told Deccan Chronicle that efforts were being made to release 6,000 cusecs of water from Sileru-Donkarayi per day. This might mitigate the problem to an extent.
He said that the water would reach the canals within one or two days and steps are being taken to supply water to the standing crop.
Meanwhile, farmers in some areas are illegally pumping the water from canals, making it more difficult for irrigation and agriculture authorities to handle the situation.
In some areas, the people's representatives are exerting pressure on officials to release water to their areas. In these circumstances, the tail-end area of the ayacut is severely hit and the farmers are worried over their crop’s sustainability.
To make matters worse, the aquaculture farmers are also diverting the water to their ponds. The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh Konaseema district president Venkatanandam said the government should sanction necessary funds for removal of weed and strengthening the canals and bunds to release the water freely for the crop.
The collectors of five districts have instructed the agriculture and irrigation officials to make use of all their resources to provide water and save the standing crop. Konaseema collector Himanshu Shukla has urged canal standing committees to help save every acre of the crop.
He sanctioned ₹8.80 lakh for repairs to the Tatapudi Pumping Scheme, which covers 6,000 acres of ayacut in five mandals in the district. He said that there were 7 turbine pumps with a capacity of 125 HP to discharge 16.50 cusecs of water. During the Covid-19 pandemic period, there was no supervision on the pumps and it led to damage. He also said the supervision of cross-bunds should be strengthened.
Kakinada collector Kritika Shukla said the state government sanctioned ₹742.81 lakh for taking up 101 works, like removal of weed, lifting of water from the canals, setting up cross bunds on the drains in the Eastern Delta and ₹338.23 lakh was sanctioned for 43 works to lift water from various sources under the Kongodu-Kajuluru-Bikkavolu limits.
She also said ₹65.58 lakh has been sanctioned for 18 works in Yeleru irrigation division ayacut.
