Prepare action plan before releasing water from Kaleswaram Project: KTR

Sircilla: Before water is released into Mid Manair dam through Kaleshwaram Project (KP) under package 9, prepare an action plan to fill all the rivers and tanks in the district, IT Minister KT Rama Rao suggested irrigation officials.

Minister KTR held a review meeting about the progress of works under Packages of 9,10,11 and 12 of Kaleshwaram project with irrigation and revenue officials at MLA camp office in Sircilla on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said about 30,000 acres in Sircilla district will get irrigation water after Ranganayak Sagar was started in Siddipet. Sircilla district will get the first fruitful results of the project by receiving Godavari water through Mida Manair reservoir from the project.

He said that around 2 lakh acres, including new ayacuts, will get Godavari water through the project under packages 9, 10, 11 and 12. For this, he told the irrigation officials to complete the distribution feeder channel and to complete land acquisition, construction of pump house and lining works at one go.

Later at a review meeting, Agriculture officials informed the Minister that paddy has been cultivated in 18,300 acres out of the total 33,000 acres. They further informed that around 212 purchasing centres were opened across the district, out of which 206 centres started purchasing food grains at minimum support price. The officials said that they are expecting about three lakh metric tonnes of produce this season and about 20,000 metric tonnes of food grains were purchased till date.

Replying to KTR's question as to why farmers are facing problems in some areas, the officials explained that certain amount of food grains are of low quality due to various diseases. Hence the rice millers are forced to remove some kgs from the produce, which the farmers brought to sell.

KTR suggested the public representatives and members of farmers coordination committee to take the farmers' issues to the officials concerned and try to solve them.