Incessant rains recharge groundwater levels in Kadapa

Kadapa: Thanks to recent incessant rains, the groundwater levels across the Kadapa district have improved marginally. About 25-30 mandals against 52 in the district saw increase in groundwater levels and the farmers were happy to conduct agriculture operations under borewells with motor pump sets. According to the sources, the groundwater level improved on an average 4.65 meters in all mandals in the district.

The official machinery is expecting more increase in the groundwater levels in coming October-November months due to occurrence of low-pressure in the particular months. It may recalled that ¾ of the agriculture operations being conducted depending upon motor sets of which farmers hard to found waters even though they sunk 400 meters depth following drastic fall of groundwater levels due to dryspell prevailing in the district for several decades.

The administration is supplying water through tankers in 25 mandals in Rayachoti, Sambepalli, Kalasapadu, CK Dinne, Kasinayina, Vemula, Jammalamadugu, B Koduru, Muddanuru , Gopavaram, Kamlapuram and Mydukuru by pending Rs 10,000 per acre for farming operations during the peak crop season. But recent rains helped the farmers to cultivate crops in kharif season without depending on the government water tankers as about 60 per cent of mandals have recorded more than normal rainfall in the district.

A Parameswara Reddy, a farmer in Rayachoti told "We are expecting good harvest in kharif season due to improved level of groundwater table. Even tanks, streams, rivulets are completely filled with water due to recent heavy rains." The farmers in the district are planning to cultivate crops in around 1.50 lakh hectares in the current kharif season. Apart from paddy, groundnut, cotton, red gram, green gram, black gram, banana, budda sanaga, jowar and sunflower are the major crops grown in the district.