After the initial sluggishness, the cultivation of Yasagni (Rabi) crops in Telangana has gained momentum during the last fortnight despite the lack of water in most of the reservoirs in the Krishna Basin. Farmers went ahead with raising crops with the help of groundwater.
Driven by the transplantation of paddy in about 16.43 lakh acres as on January 10, the extent of Rabi crops’ cultivation has reached about 48% of the season’s normal (54.93 lakh acres) – 26.18 lakh acres. Last year, the extent covered on the same date was 25.94 lakh acres, including paddy in 15.68 lakh acres.
According to Agriculture department officials, Rabi crops were raised in a record 72.63 lakh acres last year, including paddy in 56.45 lakh acres. Reaching a similar extent this crop season was not possible given the fact that water for irrigation for the second crop was ruled out already under Nagarjunasagar, Jurala and several other irrigation systems in the Krishna Basin.
