With the monsoon eluding farmers who kept ready their fields to sow crops in the district are panicky and are praying to the rain god. Rainfall that occurred in the beginning of the season created hope in them about the prospects of kharif. Some of them also sowed turmeric, maize and soya.
With borewell water, farmers raised paddy seedlings in the ayacut under Nizam Sagar Project. In Armoor division and elsewhere they also planted turmeric, maize and soya hoping that intermittent rain would help crops to grow. However, they feel their hopes got dashed now.
Worried lot
“In our model village, Ankapur, seeds were sown only on 50 per cent of fields. We are worried about rain as it may not rain to the extent expected”, said K.K. Bajanna, rythu sangham representative. The agriculture department assessed that cultivation would be undertaken on an estimated 3.80 lakh hectares in the season. However, it did not start even in one third of that figure. Last year 180 mm rainfall was recorded in the same month while this year it had been just 131 mm till now.
All reservoirs, including SRSP and NSP, Pocharam, Ramadugu, Singeetham, Kalyani and Koulas were almost empty and major and minor tanks had remained dry for the last two years.
Joint Director, Agriculture, K. Narsimha said soya was planted on 80,000 hectares as against the estimated 1.35 lakh hectares and maize on 19,000 hectares as against 50,000 hectares.
He, however, said sowing could be undertaken till July 15.
