The farmer community here threatened to resort to an agitation against the authorities of the Minor Irrigation department, who are diverting water to Andhra Pradesh for their vested interest.
The farmers of Gosani block alleged that crores of rupees are being spent for irrigation purpose, but in practice, the farmers are not availing the benefit. Rather, it is the dishonest officials who are embezzling the funds or diverting water to the Andhra farmers for pecuniary benefit. The farmer community also alleged that a small irrigation project had been constructed over the Mahenrdatanaya river to provide water to thousands of hectares of agricultural land in 18 villages in the district, but due to low grade canal work, the farmers are not getting the facility properly, affecting their harvest.
If water is properly managed and provided directly through the canals, then 9.451 hectares of agricultural land would be irrigated in Gosani block. But the water instead goes to the agriculture land of Chapara and MaliaputiMandalamar of Andhra Pradesh, they complained. They lamented that although four to five cusec water passes into the Mahendratanaya irrigation project per second in Batasiripur, but since the water is diverted to Andhra Pradesh, the farmers in Gasani block are facing scarcity with 90 per cent of the farm lands still to be readied for paddy farming.