Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kannababu on Saturday promised an action plan to tackle the expected shortage of nearly 15 tmcft of water for the rabi 2021-22 season in the Godavari region in the wake of the ongoing Polavaram irrigation project works.
The total extent under paddy for rabi is 8.96 lakh acres in the Central, Eastern and Western Deltas of the Godavari river in the region with East Godavari district alone accounting for 4.36 lakh acres.
Mr. Kannababu told mediapersons on the sidelines of the Zilla Parishad meeting here that the State government was aware of the shortage of water for rabi. “An action plan will be prepared to utilise the available water sources. A meeting of the Irrigation Advisory Boards of the two Godavari districts will be held soon on tackling the irrigation water problem and sharing and managing the water sources,” said Mr. Kannababu.
The Minister promised to hold talks with the Irrigation Department to explore various solutions.
Crop damage
On crop damage due to the recent rains, Mr. Kannababu said the Irrigation authorities were engaged in the enumeration of the damaged crops. “Paddy with 17% moisture will be procured at the Minimum Support Price through the Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBK)”, said Mr. Kannababu responding to queries.
