Water Wars Erupt in Telangana, Farmers Fight Pitched Battles
Telangana farmers, according to the agriculture department, planted various crops in a total of 1,25,85,426 acres of which water dependent paddy accounted for 56,79,969 acres.
Hyderabad:Desperate farmers in Telangana, trying to save their standing crops, have begun attacking each other, as well as taking extreme measures of “sealing” irrigation canals to prevent water from going to places other than their own villages.
In what appears to be a spreading phenomenon, two such incidents were witnessed in the state, one involving people from two villagers going at each other on the issue of where water from a canal should go, and in another, people from one village welding shut a sluice gate from water going to another village along another irrigation canal.
This kharif crop season, irrigation water has been at a premium and the irrigation department, according to its own admission, has given water to a mere 7 lakh acres — from its major and medium reservoirs on Krishna and Godavari rivers — against 37.56 lakh acres during last year’s kharif.
Telangana farmers, according to the agriculture department, planted various crops in a total of 1,25,85,426 acres of which water dependent paddy accounted for 56,79,969 acres.
In the first incident on Wednesday, farmers from Mohammadapur and Busireddypalli villages in Pangal mandal of Wanaparthy district which also happen to be in minister Jupally Krishna Rao’s Kollapur constituency, got into fisticuffs over who gets the water from the Bhima project canal, which itself gets water from the Jurala project.
It may be recalled that farmers from Arepally, Mulamalla, Kathepally, and surrounding ayacut villages in Jogulamba Gadwal district on September 19, had forced open Jurala left canal gate to save their standing crops, following which cases were filed against 11 farmers with non-bailable sections.
The farmers from Mohammadapur and Busireddypalli who fought with each other, threw punches and stones, and the police, who rushed to the spot, had a tough time controlling the two sides.
In the second incident, farmers from Kalwakurthy area welded shut the sluice gates of the KL Canal alleging that water was being diverted illegally from Peddavagu near Munnuru in Midjil mandal to Dundhubi vagu by farmers whose ayacuts fall under Dundubhi.
Alleging that despite complaints, the diversion was not being stopped, some farmers got a steel welder and welded shut the sluice gate on KL Canal, shutting supplies to Dundubhi. They warned that if the gates are opened again, then they will launch serious protests
