Kurnool: Drought, lack of works pushing people to migration

Kurnool : Severe drought conditions, non-availability of water for irrigation and no works for livelihood are forcing the people of Kurnool district to migrate to other States. Mostly people from the western part of Kurnool district are leaving their places in search of works. Already residents of several villages in Mantralayam, Alur, Pathikonda, Aspari, Kosigi and other mandals have migrated to the neighbouring Telangana State and other States.

On Wednesday, several agriculture families of Chinakadabur village in Peddakadabur mandal of Yemmiganur constituency left to Zaheerabad in Telangana State. They said that crops cultivated in the entire mandal were withered and there is nothing they can do without water. ‘Hence, we are going to other places hoping to get work to eke out a living,’ they added.

It is too bad that the children of these people would lose their education, since they cannot get admission in school in new areas. The State government is giving huge publicity, claiming that it is giving top priority to education and ensuring that every child will go to school. If the government do not stop these migrations, the number of child labour would increase, a migrant farmer lamented.

A source alleged that the officials concerned are well aware of the prevailing drastic situation and failed to stop the migrations by generating employment under NREGS. It came to know that on Monday, around 150 families of Santa Nagalapuram village in Yemmiganur mandal migrated to neighbouring States by boarding eight multi-utility vehicles. A villager said that they are going to Sekunta village in Raichur district of Karnataka State and Shankarpalli village in Sangareddy mandal of Telangana State to work in cotton fields. Same situation is prevailing in Chippagiri mandal. The villagers of Nemakal and Sangala also migrated to Telangana to work in maize, chilly and cotton fields. According to the villagers, this year the district is reeling under drastic drought situation. Due to scanty rainfall, almost all the cultivated crops got withered. Farmers wailed that they borrowed huge amounts from money lenders for investing in farming activities. Now with the dried-up crops, there is no other way to repay the loans, except to move to other places to eke out living, they added.

According to information, around 24 mandals in Kurnool district were drought hit and were declared drought prone. Crops cultivated in 2,76,714.6 hectares were totally damaged and 3,32,101 farmers incurred huge loss.