Duped by rain gods, farmers buy tankers to sustain crops

Momeenpet:  The Rain Gods have no mercy on the farmer even after the advent of the monsoon season.  With the arrival of the monsoons rather early, the farmers in Vikarabad district, including Momeenpet mandal, have taken up agricultural operations in full swing and sowed the seeds. After the germination of the seeds, the seedlings are withering away as the rains have been playing truant. 

In Morangapalli village, a farmer N Bichchaiah planted tomato and cotton in his one-acre field. 
Unable to see the seedlings wither away in front of his eyes, the farmer with the help of his son Srinivas and other villagers have been watering the plants fetching water with the help of a tanker expending Rs 1000 for each tanker. At some places, the farmers fetching water with the help of pitchers and watering the plants. 

Uncertainty dogs the life of farmer. Whether the tomato and cotton fetch him a good bargain or not nobody knows. But, the farmer is toiling hard to save the standing crops. He is keen on sustaining the plants watering them at any cost increasing his input costs in the absence of rains. 

If this is the condition of the farmer, will he be able to recover the costs by way of sale of his produce? It is a million dollar question which only the rulers of the land can answer. The state government has been supplying seeds and fertilizer on subsidy to reduce input costs of the farmer.  Perhaps, a time has come whether the government has to supply irrigation water also on subsidy if the travails of the farmer to save standing crops were any indication. 

BY Erranagu Mogilaiah