Mahbubnagar: Meagre returns leave paddy farmers heartbroken

Mahbubnagar: Paddy farmers, particularly those, who irrigated under tube wells and open wells, in various villages of Mahbubnagar district have incurred heavy losses during this Rabi season.

Farmers in and around Jadcherla, Balanagar, Rajapur, Nawabpet, Bhootpur, Koilkonda and some areas in Devarkadra region mainly depend on tube wells for paddy irrigation. Though the State government is supplying 24-hour free power for the farming sector, there is a grave scarcity of groundwater as majority of borewells are running 24 hours leading to depletion.

The officials have filled small and big lakes and ponds in a few mandals that had helped ground water recharge. But, tube wells in majority of the mandals were dried up or not pumping water adequately to suffice the paddy farming.

Except for those areas under canals and reservoirs, the farmers depending on tube wells and open wells have incurred huge loss as they witnessed low paddy yield.

Ramachandra, a paddy farmer from Shankarayapally village of Jadcherla mandal said this season they got very low yields as their paddy farm was badly damaged due to wild boar and pests.

"I cultivated paddy in about two acres with water from four tube wells. Two of these wells are dried with the onset of summer and the remaining two couldn't supply enough water," he lamented. This year, I got 15 to 20 bags of yield per acre against 25 to 30 bags in other days, he stated.

Stating that they have invested Rs 20,000 per acre for paddy

cultivation, he expressed worry that they many get not even get their investment with the government paying only Rs 1,835 as minimum support price for one quintal of paddy.

Another farmer Redya Nayak of Chinnagutta Tanda said wild boars, peacocks and pests caused huge loss for his paddy crop. To save the labour cost, his family members are working on the fields, he said.

All the farmers cultivated paddy under tube wells and open wells are in deep distress as they are incurring huge loss during this Rabi season.