Failure of the Kaleshwaram Barrage turns fortunes Around for farmers in Maharashtra and Telangana. (DC File Image)
HYDERABAD: Around 20,000 people from 25 villages in Sironcha taluka in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district are rejoicing the failure of the Kaleshwaram scheme as their fortunes have been revived by the Medigadda barrage’s dysfunction.
Sironcha taluka located on the banks of Godavari river is famed for its chilli and cotton crops. Besides inundating hundreds of acres of farm land, water in the Medigadda barrage spilled over to their fields in the peak
monsoon season.
monsoon season.
Ashok Damaji from Rajannapalli said that they were in the worst phase of their life when the barrage was commissioned in 2019. Though the barrage helped people of Sironcha to save a detour of over 18 km to reach
Kaleshwaram in Telangana, they had to lose productive agricultural land.
Devendra Verma from Ankisa pointed out that the Telangana government had acquired around 900 acres of land by paying between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 11 lakh per acre. Approximately, 1300 acres of agricultural land in 23 villages were lost due to floods and backwaters, he said.
But, farmers in some villages in Sironcha taluka managed to raise crops in the last kharif season and even the crop area increased in the Rabi season.
Deorao from Karaspalli said that Goddess Lakshmi, referring to the name of the barrage, had saved them and they are hoping to revive agriculture in all the lands as the Telangana government may not revive the barrage.
Farmers from Kataram and Manthani mandals in Manthani constituency are also jubilant as they have once again raised cotton and paddy crops in hundreds of acres.
All major Kaleshwaram scheme barrages — Medigadda (Lakshmi), Kannepally (Parvati), Annaram (Saraswati) and Sundilla — are in Mathani constituency. With the Godavari and Manair flowing through the constituency, farmers from villages in the catchment area of the two rivers took to cultivation of
paddy and cotton in their fields.
The project had inundated around 280 acres of fields in the backwater of the Kaleshwaram project. The farmers of around 22 villages, including include Siripuram, Besthapally, Gunjapadugu, Potharam, Vilochavaram, Nagepally, Adavisomanpally, Gopalpur, Chinna Odela of Manthani mandal and Damerakunta, Lakshmipur, Gundrathipally, Ganagpuri, Mallaram, Vilasagar and Gangaram of Kataram mandal were the most affected. But, the dysfunctional barrage had once again helped them revive their agricultural operations.
Farmers from Kataram and Manthani mandals are a delighted lot now as they are set to reap benefits as their fields were not submerged in the backwaters of the Kaleshwaram project.
Meanwhile, the project added to the misery to people living in several colonies in Mancherial town as the backwaters of Godavari flood waters entered their houses in the rainy season.
The state government sanctioned Rs 255 crore to build protection walls along the Rallavagu to check the flow of backwaters of Godavari.
Low-lying colonies in the town’s Ramnagar and NTR Nagar are at risk of flood threats, especially because the project’s backwaters and water discharged from Yellampalli enter the colonies.
Medigadda and Annaram barrages' backwaters have become a nightmare for many farmers since a large extent of agricultural lands in Chennur Assembly constituency (Mancherial district) and Manthani in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district were submerged during the October 2023 monsoon.
Narsapur, Sundarashala, Beerelli and Ponkur villages located on the banks of river Godavari in Chennur Assembly constituency were badly affected by the backwaters of Medigadda barrage. Now they are heaving a sigh of relief as are the farmers from Mallaram, Gangapuri, Gundarathpalli, Damarakuna, Laxmipur and Villasagar villages.
With inputs from Pillalamarri Srinivas and Puli Sharat Kumar
Kaleshwaram in Telangana, they had to lose productive agricultural land.
Devendra Verma from Ankisa pointed out that the Telangana government had acquired around 900 acres of land by paying between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 11 lakh per acre. Approximately, 1300 acres of agricultural land in 23 villages were lost due to floods and backwaters, he said.
But, farmers in some villages in Sironcha taluka managed to raise crops in the last kharif season and even the crop area increased in the Rabi season.
Deorao from Karaspalli said that Goddess Lakshmi, referring to the name of the barrage, had saved them and they are hoping to revive agriculture in all the lands as the Telangana government may not revive the barrage.
Farmers from Kataram and Manthani mandals in Manthani constituency are also jubilant as they have once again raised cotton and paddy crops in hundreds of acres.
All major Kaleshwaram scheme barrages — Medigadda (Lakshmi), Kannepally (Parvati), Annaram (Saraswati) and Sundilla — are in Mathani constituency. With the Godavari and Manair flowing through the constituency, farmers from villages in the catchment area of the two rivers took to cultivation of
paddy and cotton in their fields.
The project had inundated around 280 acres of fields in the backwater of the Kaleshwaram project. The farmers of around 22 villages, including include Siripuram, Besthapally, Gunjapadugu, Potharam, Vilochavaram, Nagepally, Adavisomanpally, Gopalpur, Chinna Odela of Manthani mandal and Damerakunta, Lakshmipur, Gundrathipally, Ganagpuri, Mallaram, Vilasagar and Gangaram of Kataram mandal were the most affected. But, the dysfunctional barrage had once again helped them revive their agricultural operations.
Farmers from Kataram and Manthani mandals are a delighted lot now as they are set to reap benefits as their fields were not submerged in the backwaters of the Kaleshwaram project.
Meanwhile, the project added to the misery to people living in several colonies in Mancherial town as the backwaters of Godavari flood waters entered their houses in the rainy season.
The state government sanctioned Rs 255 crore to build protection walls along the Rallavagu to check the flow of backwaters of Godavari.
Low-lying colonies in the town’s Ramnagar and NTR Nagar are at risk of flood threats, especially because the project’s backwaters and water discharged from Yellampalli enter the colonies.
Medigadda and Annaram barrages' backwaters have become a nightmare for many farmers since a large extent of agricultural lands in Chennur Assembly constituency (Mancherial district) and Manthani in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district were submerged during the October 2023 monsoon.
Narsapur, Sundarashala, Beerelli and Ponkur villages located on the banks of river Godavari in Chennur Assembly constituency were badly affected by the backwaters of Medigadda barrage. Now they are heaving a sigh of relief as are the farmers from Mallaram, Gangapuri, Gundarathpalli, Damarakuna, Laxmipur and Villasagar villages.
With inputs from Pillalamarri Srinivas and Puli Sharat Kumar
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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