The Telangana Rythu Sangham has demanded the supply of Godavari waters to Rayamadharam in Yenkuru mandal, Khammam district, to save standing crops. The organization also urged the state government to include Yenkuru mandal in the list of drought-affected areas.
On Saturday, a team from the Rythu Sangham, led by district secretary Bonthu Rambabu and vice-president Duggi Krishna, visited Rayamadharam, Timmaropeta, Rajalingala, Burad Raghavapuram, and Lachagudem villages. They inspected paddy and other crops drying up on both sides of the Nagarjuna Sagar Left Canal.
Rythu Sangham leaders stated that farmers cultivated paddy on both sides of the canal because Godavari waters were supplied to the Wyra Reservoir via the escape channel between Timmaropeta and Rayamadharam on the Nagarjuna Sagar Left Canal. This water release facilitated cultivation in Yenkuru, Konijerla, and Khammam Urban mandals.
However, the Rythu Sangham alleged that district irrigation officials have been diverting Godavari waters through the Siripuram Major instead of the Timmaropeta escape channel for the past twenty days. This diversion, they said, risks damage to crops on both sides of the Sagar Left Canal and under other streams and rivulets, which are nearing harvest.
The organization appealed for the continued supply of Godavari waters for irrigation for another month to support farmers. They also highlighted that Yenkuru mandal is not on the state government's declared list of drought-affected mandals, despite many villages relying on rain-fed crops, and demanded its inclusion.
