Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh), In the drought-stricken areas of Anantapur parliamentary constituency of Andhra Pradesh, anger is brewing among farmers, who are determined to vote for parties that offer concrete solutions to their long-standing water problems and agricultural challenges. Present.
Drought-stricken farmers, who have been battling the wrath of nature year after year, now find themselves at the crossroads of political calculations. Frustrated with empty promises and inadequate measures, they are uniting behind a call for change.
Anantapur parliamentary constituency comprises seven assembly constituencies where drinking and irrigation water is a major concern for farmers. Due to low rainfall and lack of irrigation facilities, most people in the region depend on borewells dug up to 900 feet deep.The cultivation of groundnut, the main crop of the region, has seen a huge decline due to lack of rainfall, forcing farmers to abandon farming and migrate to cities for their livelihood.
“There has been inadequate rainfall in the last eight years, and the groundwater level has declined rapidly. Even the borewells are not functioning properly,” said T Rajendra (44), a farmer from Itukapalli village in Anantapur mandal. I have 40 borewells, but only four were successful." He said that the subsidy on drip irrigation given to farmers during the tenure of Telugu Desha Party (TDP) till 2019 was completely stopped by the current YS Congress government, due to which farmers The problems increased."If the state government had continued the subsidy on drip irrigation, the situation would have been different. I will vote for change this time," he said.
Chandrashekhar, district secretary of Raitha Sangha, said that farmers of drought-hit Anantapur for almost two decades believed that groundnut was the only crop strong enough to withstand the irregular rainfall patterns. Due to this conviction, the area under groundnut cultivation had increased. Cultivation increased from 1,94,840 hectares in 1961–62 to 8,11,156 hectares by 2005–06; by 2006–07, Anantapur district alone accounted for 50 percent of the total cultivation. He said, groundnut cultivation area in the entire Andhra Pradesh state."However, the cultivation of this crop brought immense misery to the farmers of the district. After 1998, more than 10,000 groundnut farmers committed suicide," he claimed. He said that at least one lakh agricultural laborers are migrating every year.
The main reasons for this situation were lack of timely rains leading to crop failure, being stuck in debt due to excessive borrowing for crop protection through borewells, lack of remunerative prices from the government despite rising input costs, new pests and low Yield.To save the farming community of the district, the governments appointed several committees.He said the experts on those committees made valuable recommendations to the governments, but none of them were implemented and expressed hope that the next government, no matter which party is formed, would take this into serious consideration.
According to official data, irrigation facilities are available for only 3.04 per cent of the total cultivable area of 14.85 lakh acres in Anantapur district.
The National Irrigation Commission of 1972 had suggested providing irrigation facilities to at least 30 percent of the land area for agriculture in this district. Commissions such as the Jaitley Ghosh report in 2004, the Swaminathan Foundation report in 2009 and the New Delhi Committee report in 2012 recommended diverting river water to deal with drought in Anantapur district. "The recommendations of experts are dusty," the Rythu Sangh leader said. Progress is being made, but work on the projects started decades ago is still incomplete." Farmers are not able to go for expensive drip irrigation as the YSR Congress government has ended the subsidy on it," he said.
Many farmers are angry with the YSR Congress government for not resolving their issues. The state government has announced only one scheme, Rythu Barosa, under which farmers were given Rs 5,500 per year, which has reportedly not been implemented properly.
Balu Bojjaiah, a 50-year-old farmer from the same village, said, “I am getting Rs 6,000 per year under the central scheme PM-Kisan and not the benefit of the state government's 'Rythu Barosa' scheme."Farming has become difficult due to rising production costs. For example, the labor cost for six hours of work a day has increased to Rs 350-500 compared to eight hours a day. Excluding diesel expenses, the cost of a tractor is Rs. The cost has increased from Rs 500 per hour to Rs 1,500 per hour.
Farmer Lakshmi Narayan (64), who also works as a battery vehicle operator at Sri Krishnadevaraya University, lamented that farming has become a loss-making business. “I invest my entire salary in maintaining my farm, yet I don't get much in return." Narayan, who grows groundnut, cotton and paddy on 1 acre of land, said.
"Suppose if I spend Rs 2,000 on my farm, I get only half of it in return. I have a loan of Rs 40 lakh." 33 candidates are contesting in Anantapur parliamentary constituency, including TDP's G Lakshminarayana. There is a direct contest between M Shankar Narayan of YSR Congress and Mallikarjuna Vajjala of Congress is also in the fray.
TDP candidate Lakshminarayana accused the current government of neglecting Anantapur and promised to develop the area if voted to power.“The main problem is water. There are many reservoirs and irrigation projects which are either neglected or non-started – all these will be worked on when we come to power."
Drought-stricken farmers, who have been battling the wrath of nature year after year, now find themselves at the crossroads of political calculations. Frustrated with empty promises and inadequate measures, they are uniting behind a call for change.
Anantapur parliamentary constituency comprises seven assembly constituencies where drinking and irrigation water is a major concern for farmers. Due to low rainfall and lack of irrigation facilities, most people in the region depend on borewells dug up to 900 feet deep.The cultivation of groundnut, the main crop of the region, has seen a huge decline due to lack of rainfall, forcing farmers to abandon farming and migrate to cities for their livelihood.
“There has been inadequate rainfall in the last eight years, and the groundwater level has declined rapidly. Even the borewells are not functioning properly,” said T Rajendra (44), a farmer from Itukapalli village in Anantapur mandal. I have 40 borewells, but only four were successful." He said that the subsidy on drip irrigation given to farmers during the tenure of Telugu Desha Party (TDP) till 2019 was completely stopped by the current YS Congress government, due to which farmers The problems increased."If the state government had continued the subsidy on drip irrigation, the situation would have been different. I will vote for change this time," he said.
Chandrashekhar, district secretary of Raitha Sangha, said that farmers of drought-hit Anantapur for almost two decades believed that groundnut was the only crop strong enough to withstand the irregular rainfall patterns. Due to this conviction, the area under groundnut cultivation had increased. Cultivation increased from 1,94,840 hectares in 1961–62 to 8,11,156 hectares by 2005–06; by 2006–07, Anantapur district alone accounted for 50 percent of the total cultivation. He said, groundnut cultivation area in the entire Andhra Pradesh state."However, the cultivation of this crop brought immense misery to the farmers of the district. After 1998, more than 10,000 groundnut farmers committed suicide," he claimed. He said that at least one lakh agricultural laborers are migrating every year.
The main reasons for this situation were lack of timely rains leading to crop failure, being stuck in debt due to excessive borrowing for crop protection through borewells, lack of remunerative prices from the government despite rising input costs, new pests and low Yield.To save the farming community of the district, the governments appointed several committees.He said the experts on those committees made valuable recommendations to the governments, but none of them were implemented and expressed hope that the next government, no matter which party is formed, would take this into serious consideration.
According to official data, irrigation facilities are available for only 3.04 per cent of the total cultivable area of 14.85 lakh acres in Anantapur district.
The National Irrigation Commission of 1972 had suggested providing irrigation facilities to at least 30 percent of the land area for agriculture in this district. Commissions such as the Jaitley Ghosh report in 2004, the Swaminathan Foundation report in 2009 and the New Delhi Committee report in 2012 recommended diverting river water to deal with drought in Anantapur district. "The recommendations of experts are dusty," the Rythu Sangh leader said. Progress is being made, but work on the projects started decades ago is still incomplete." Farmers are not able to go for expensive drip irrigation as the YSR Congress government has ended the subsidy on it," he said.
Many farmers are angry with the YSR Congress government for not resolving their issues. The state government has announced only one scheme, Rythu Barosa, under which farmers were given Rs 5,500 per year, which has reportedly not been implemented properly.
Balu Bojjaiah, a 50-year-old farmer from the same village, said, “I am getting Rs 6,000 per year under the central scheme PM-Kisan and not the benefit of the state government's 'Rythu Barosa' scheme."Farming has become difficult due to rising production costs. For example, the labor cost for six hours of work a day has increased to Rs 350-500 compared to eight hours a day. Excluding diesel expenses, the cost of a tractor is Rs. The cost has increased from Rs 500 per hour to Rs 1,500 per hour.
Farmer Lakshmi Narayan (64), who also works as a battery vehicle operator at Sri Krishnadevaraya University, lamented that farming has become a loss-making business. “I invest my entire salary in maintaining my farm, yet I don't get much in return." Narayan, who grows groundnut, cotton and paddy on 1 acre of land, said.
"Suppose if I spend Rs 2,000 on my farm, I get only half of it in return. I have a loan of Rs 40 lakh." 33 candidates are contesting in Anantapur parliamentary constituency, including TDP's G Lakshminarayana. There is a direct contest between M Shankar Narayan of YSR Congress and Mallikarjuna Vajjala of Congress is also in the fray.
TDP candidate Lakshminarayana accused the current government of neglecting Anantapur and promised to develop the area if voted to power.“The main problem is water. There are many reservoirs and irrigation projects which are either neglected or non-started – all these will be worked on when we come to power."
