As part of their persistent agitation, a large number of farmers from different villages in Raichur, Sirwar and Manvi taluks of Raichur district blocked the State Highway near Saath Mile Cross near Raichur on Monday for several hours demanding supply of Tungabhadra waters for their standing crops at the tail-end of Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal (TLBC).
The agitation began at about 9 in the morning and ended by 3 p.m. only after Deputy Commissioner Chandrashekhar Nayak visited the agitation site and convinced the agitating protesting farmers with an assurance of providing enough water to their standing crops.
As the road, which connects all taluks of Raichur district with the district headquarters, was blocked, traffic came to a standstill with vehicles stranded for a distance on all sides.
The efforts of some of the drivers who attempted to drive their vehicles through remote roads bypassing the agitation spot were spoiled by the villagers. The travellers had to wait in their vehicles for hours till the agitation was called off and traffic was cleared in the evening.
Initially, the efforts of the police to convince the farmers to call off the strike went in vain.
Then, Additional Deputy Commissioner K.R. Durgesh came to the spot and with an assurance of releasing enough water for their crops, requested the farmers to call off the strike.
The persistent farmers, however, demanded the presence of the Deputy Commissioner himself and his assurance in person. Then, the Deputy Commissioner had to rush to the spot.
“Tail-end farmers suffering from lack of water for their standing crops is a yearly phenomenon. The illegal expansion of irrigation to lakhs of acres of land in the upper reaches of the TLBC in Koppal district is the reason for farmers not getting enough water for their crops in the lower reaches of the canal in Raichur district,” Mahanthesh Patil Attanur, president of TLBC Tail-End Farmers Association, said during the agitation.
“The district administration, the Irrigation Department and the government know the problem. However, they are not ready to solve it. They are creating an artificial drought for the tail-end farmers, though the Tungabhadra Reservoir has enough water for irrigation,” he added.
Supporting the farmers agitation, Raichur MLA Shivaraj Patil said that the farmers of TLBC tail-end, especially those in Raichur and Manvi taluks, are not getting enough water as decided by the Tungabhadra Irrigation Consultative Committee (ICC).
“Farmers have cultivated paddy, cotton, chilli and other crops hoping to get Tungabhadra waters through TLBC. With a deficit monsoon on the one hand and insufficient water flowing in the TLBC on the other, their crops are drying up. If they don’t get water now, they will have to see their crops destroyed and debt mounting on their shoulders. Their distress may push them to take extreme steps,” Mr. Patil said.
“We have submitted memoranda to the district authorities many times requesting the officials to address the issue on a priority basis. The officials never took it seriously. It is a life and death question for us. If our standing crops are destroyed, we will get into a vicious debt trap. With no way to escape, we will have to commit suicide,” an agitating farmer said.
Farmers leaders M. Veeranagouda, Siddanagouda Nelahal, Anjinayya Kadagol, Anitha Basavaraj, Amareshappa and others were present.
