KARIMNAGAR: Encouraged by the decent returns they got from cotton last year, farmers in this district have been waiting eagerly for the rains to pick up this year. Normally sowing would commence by June 15 but this year, but the rainfall has not been encouraging so far. For farmers who had to fight hard to get cotton seeds, the worries are mounting. Was it worth it after all?According agriculture joint director Dharma Naik some 5.6 lakh hectares are sown in kharif every year: 2.60 lakh hectares cotton, 1.70 lakh hectares paddy, and 0.70 lakh hectares maize. Officials said that as against the June normal of 161 mm in Karimnagar district, there has been only 65 mmof rainfall so far.Farmers have already sown cotton in some parts of the district but the saplings have begun withering for lack of rain. Some farmers are going to desperate lengths to protect their hopes. Last year, by the end of June, about 30 percent of the cotton sowing had been completed. This year, it’s been only 10 percent. Where there is sufficient ground water, paddy nurseries are being raised, said Naik. But not many areas are so fortunate. Inflows into the Lower Manair Dam (LMD) have been scanty. The water level in the project, which irrigates 5 lakh acres, has fallen to dead storage, with only 5 tmc ft available as against the full capacity of 24 tmc ft.
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