Exhort farmers to take up horticulture farming: Collector

Ongole: Prakasam District Collector Dr Pola Bhaskara ordered the micro-irrigation department officials to encourage the farmers to adapt to horticulture crops and use micro irrigation methods. He visited the horticulture crops supported by the micro-irrigation department at Umamaheswara Puram in Mundlamuru mandal and interacted with the local farmers on Friday.

In the meeting, the Collector said that due to the scanty rainfall, about 142 farmers from Umamaheswara Puram using micro-irrigation scheme for the cultivation of Chilli in 138 hectares, receiving Rs 1.42 crore as subsidy.

He announced that the district administration will develop the village as a model village with the help of all departments. He said that they will allow the farmers to create small farm ponds in their farms as per their request and try to develop two villages in each mandal as model villages like Umamaheswara Puram.

The Collector said that there is severe water scarcity in the district and advised that every person should utilise water very carefully and make big produce. He said that there are 916 identified tanks in the district but there is no water in them as they are occupied and dugout by others.

He warned the encroachers to remove their encroachments voluntarily as they pose danger to the tanks. He said that the soak pits should be constructed in the fields and at the hand pumps in the villages. APMIP PD Raveendra, DWMA PD Venkateswarlu, horticulture APD Jennamma, Mundlamuru tahsildar P Parvathi and others also participated in the programme.