Andhra Pradesh staring at drought

Hyderabad: Elaborate prayers to the Rain God went unanswered. Andhra Pradesh is staring at a drought, with 48 per cent rainfall deficit and farmers are distressed. Those waiting to sow know there is no time left, while the early birds are dreading that the saplings are drying up.

"There has been so far no rains this year. The seeds are getting spoilt. If the government does not extend help, we will have to commit suicide,'' said Suryanarayana Reddy, a farmer.

The monsoon in Andhra Pradesh extends till September but rainfall in August and September will be of little use to farmers.

"We are asking farmers to cultivate non-water intensive crops like maize. It is not the first time that there is deficit rainfall in Andhra Pradesh,'' said D A Somayajulu, Deputy Chairman, Agriculture Technology Mission.

Andhra Pradesh has been notorious for suicide deaths of its farmers and the state cannot afford another drought.

One good news however is that upper riparian states like Maharashtra and Karnataka have received normal rainfall so far this year. So inflows into the reservoirs in Andhra Pradesh are not so bad. Officials are banking on this to bail out the farmer especially in the paddy intensive Krishna-Godavari belt, the rice bowl of the state.