Farmers unhappy due to lack of rain and water

VIJAYAWADA: “Forget the festival, for it is now a question of survival.I am not sure if I can make anything out of the crop what with a long dry spell,’’ says Srinivasa Rao, a tenant farmer of Chevutur village in G Konduru mandal in Krishna district, who raised paddy in an acre of land by paying Rs 5,000 lease amount and investing Rs 8,000 on the crop.Now his crop has completely dried up due to lack of rain and water not being released from the Nagarjuna Sagar canal. “How can I convince my children, who are studying seventh and fourth classes, that I have no money to spend on the festival.I have to borrow money to celebrate the festival in order to make my children happy.”  He says that he pawned four sovereigns of the mangalasutram of his wife Gangamma to get a loan of `25,000 to raise the paddy.“Now I am in a distressed mood due to complete damage of the crop,” he adds. This is not a lone case of Srinivasa Rao.Over 150 farmers of his village face a similar situation.Vangala Krishna, who raised cotton by investing `20,000 in his one and a half acre of land, says there is no hope of getting even 25 per cent of the expected yield as the crop is getting dried up. He describes his condition as worse than that of the farmers in Telangana.“Power supply has not been even for three hours during the last one week.How can we water the crops?” he wonders.There is no scope for celebration of Deepavali in the village as all the farmers are similarly placed. Another farmer, Gollapudi Venkateswara Rao, who raised cotton in two acres, chilli in one and a half acres, is more forthright saying that he has given up all hopes on the crop.“Had I declared a crop holiday for myself I would not have suffered a loss of `10,000 per acre,’’ he laments.Rayala Sambasiva Rao of Chandrala villge in Mylavaram mandal says paddy in 600 acres, cotton in 700 acres, chilli in 200 acres and turmeric in 300 acres was damaged due to lack of rain and non- functioning of bore wells.He says that almost every farmer has suffered a loss of `10,000 per acre for raising paddy.“There is no festival mood in the village.If children insist, we have to borrow money to purchase crackers,’’ he says.