Hyderabad: Aurobindo Pharma Foundation to inaugurate irrigation project

Hyderabad: Aurobindo Pharma's philanthropic arm, Aurobindo Pharma Foundation said on Friday that it will inaugurate a mini lift irrigation scheme (MLIS) at Mojerla village, Peddamandadi mandal, Wanaparthy district in Telangana on Saturday (March 5, 2022).

The project will enhance the physical access to water for farms and expand the cultivable area under assured irrigation, thus positively impacting the agricultural landscape of the village, it said in a statement.

According to the 2011 census, Mojerla village has a total population of 1,879 people, with the majority of them being involved in agriculture and allied activities for their livelihood. Geologically, the area is covered with hard rocks and has low to moderate groundwater resources. This location receives erratic and irregular rainfall, forcing the farmers to cultivate a single crop, especially during the Kharif season. Paddy is the major crop cultivated in the Kharif season within the available source of water. In order to improve the socio-economic conditions of the farmers in Mojerla and the surrounding villages of Peddamandadi mandal, Aurobindo Pharma Foundation has contributed Rs 1.50 crore and implemented this project through Ramky Foundation within a short span of four months.

Mojerla village has a net sown area of 350.9 hectares with an irrigated area of 143.3 hectares. The primary source of water for irrigation is groundwater, and wells/tube wells. Hence, there is a need to improve the sources of irrigation to achieve better socio-economic conditions for the village. This project will increase employment in the farming and allied sectors, expand the green belt in the project area, and improve crop diversity and cropping intensity in the region, the statement added. K Nithyananda Reddy, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Aurobindo Pharma Limited, said: "For establishing this lift irrigation scheme, a pump house was constructed and two main pipelines were laid from Shankara Samudram reservoir to two ponds in Mojerla village. This project will increase the access to irrigation for farms as well as expand the cultivable land."

According to the foundation, with the implementation of this project, a total of 1,030 acre of cultivable land can be irrigated per crop cycle. This will benefit over 1,000 farmers in the village of Mojerla and 2-3 surrounding villages, as they shift from the current rain fed/dry land crops such as jowar and ragi to commercial crops like groundnut, cotton, etc., and vegetables.