Top storyMLA Revuri Prakash Reddy has appealed to farmers to cooperate with the land re-survey being conducted in the state. He inspected the re-survey programme in Agrampahad village of Atmakur mandal and asked officials about the progress of the process. He said the re-survey would provide a permanent solution to land problems, urging farmers to furnish land details transparently and officials to verify and record them on the ground. He later met beneficiaries of milch buffaloes given through the SC Corporation in Nerukulla, Kamaram and Penchikalapet villages. Mandal party president Jalandhar Reddy accompanied him.
Eruvaka celebrations were held in Jeenuguralla village of Devarakadra mandal on the occasion of Eruvaka Pournami. MLA G. Madhusudan Reddy attended as chief guest and inaugurated the festivities by riding a bullock cart himself. He distributed prizes to the winners of the 'eruka thadu' and reverse tractor competitions. The MLA said he hoped for ample rainfall so that farmers' fields would turn green. The celebrations were held on a grand scale in the village.
CPM district secretary C. Ramakrishna demanded that all 32 mandals in Sri Sathya Sai district be identified as drought mandals and the district declared drought-hit. He spoke during a drought survey jeep yatra held on Sunday in Puttaparthi, Kothacheruvu, Penukonda, Gorantla and other mandals. Crops were sown on only 2.70 lakh acres against 12 lakh acres, he said, seeking Rs 50,000 per acre compensation, fodder, 200 workdays and Rs 700 daily wage. A dharna at the collectorate was announced for the 30th.
The agriculture department's crop registration drive is about 75% complete across the Devarakadra constituency, officials said. Surveyors are photographing fields and recording details on the Digital Crop Survey Telangana portal using Google Map-based geo-tagging, with AEOs verifying the entries. Cultivated area covered includes Devarakadra 25,370 acres, Bhoothpur 24,366, Musapet 8,136, Addakula 17,729, Chinnachintakunta 24,670 and Koukuntla 16,146 acres. AO Rajendra Agarwal said farmers with objections must contact their cluster AEO within 72 hours of receiving the SMS.
Farmers staged a dharna on the Khammam-Kodad national highway near Shantinagar in Ananthagiri mandal, demanding the immediate release of water to the Kothagudem major canal. They said crops were drying up because canal water had not reached their fields and because of power cuts, and that they were facing severe difficulties. Police reached the spot and persuaded the farmers, who then called off the protest.
Seventy Kisan drones are being provided on subsidy to farmers in the combined Anantapur district. Each drone costs Rs 9.80 lakh; after the farmer's share of Rs 2 lakh, the government will credit the remaining Rs 7.30 lakh to farmer group accounts, with a bank loan of Rs 4.90 lakh. Rules were relaxed, and Intermediate qualification now suffices. Groups need more than five members. Applications close this month-end, followed by 12 days of free training at Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur.
A tenant farmer, Sheikh Rafiq of Mannur village in Gudihathnoor mandal of Adilabad district, ploughed down his cabbage crop with a tractor after failing to get a remunerative price. He said he had leased two acres, and that the market rate of only Rs 3-4 per kg did not cover harvesting labour and transport costs. He put his investment at Rs 70,000 an acre and his loss at about Rs 1,50,000 an acre, besides lease of Rs 20,000 an acre. Last year the crop earned him Rs 1,50,000 profit an acre, he said, appealing for government support.
BRS MLA Vijayudu has demanded the immediate restoration of lift irrigation schemes in the Alampur constituency. He met senior Irrigation Department officials at Jalasoudha, Erramanzil, on Monday and submitted a representation. Farmers in the constituency depend mainly on lift schemes, he said, adding that the Utoor and Kyatoor lifts serve an ayacut of 10,000 acres besides supplying drinking water to several villages. Thieves stole copper wires and oil from pumps and transformers, leaving the lifts non-functional, he said.
Scientists Rahul and Dinesh of Professor Jayashankar Rao University inspected a redgram crop grown on six acres at Eggam village in Bhainsa mandal of Nirmal district under PACS Mirzapur. They said their aim is to supply better quality seeds to farmers. Kandi One and WRGE 97 varieties are being raised for seed production under the Agricultural Research Institute, Warangal. The produce will be bought by the society and sent to the seed research institute. Society secretary Rajender, staff member Suresh and farmer Kalyan Prasad took part.
Farmers staged a protest, sitting on the road at Uppal Vayi village in Ramareddy mandal of Kamareddy district. They alleged that urea bags are not available on time and that information on the app is disorganised. The farmers said agriculture department officials are not conveying the details posted on the urea app to villagers, leaving them without urea. They demanded that the app system be cancelled and urea be distributed directly to farmers. Police reached the spot and tried to pacify them.
Officials on Wednesday halted CCI cotton procurement at Vijaya Cotton Industry in Ootkur mandal of Telangana's Narayanpet district, citing continuous rain since Tuesday night. Protesting farmers sat on the main road, stalling RTC buses and private vehicles for about three hours. Farmers demanded withdrawal of the 8-12% moisture norm, saying cotton with higher moisture was being refused. They ended the protest after officials promised to resume purchases after 12 noon.
The government has decided to supply Yasangi irrigation water on an on-and-off (warabandi) basis under SRSP Stage 1 and 2 in erstwhile Warangal district. Officials estimate about 5.77 lakh acres can be served, subject to water availability. From January 1 to March 31, 2025, water will be released for a week and stopped the next week. In Mahabubabad district, farmers say the unlined DBM 60 canal is overgrown with thorny bushes and want it modernised.
The Union Agriculture Ministry said on Saturday that a healthy Badri female calf was born on Friday through Ovum Pick-Up and In Vitro Fertilisation (OPU-IVF) technology, after a Badri embryo was transferred into a Sahiwal recipient cow. Badri is an indigenous cattle breed found in Uttarakhand. ICAR-NDRI Karnal and GB Pant University, Pantnagar collaborated, funded by the Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council. Another recipient cow is expected to deliver within 5-7 days.
