Damage to Tungabhadra dam has increased the anxiety of paddy producers of Karnataka.

16-Aug-2024 05:00 PM

Mysore. Damage to the dam constructed on Tungabhadra river in Karnataka is causing a lot of wastage of water, which may cause great difficulty to farmers in cultivating high quality paddy in the second (Rabi) season.

During the second season, paddy of fine varieties like Sona Masuri and RNR is cultivated more there. Water is supplied from Tungabhadra dam for its cultivation and irrigation.

Farmers fear that if the water level in the dam falls, then there may be a huge problem in transplanting paddy and at the same time a serious crisis of drinking water may also arise. Last week, the crest gate of this dam was washed away.

Tungabhadra reservoir is actually near Hospet in the eastern part of Karnataka, which is considered the main source of irrigation of crops in some parts of Karnataka as well as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The president of Karnataka Rajya Rait Sangh says that it is difficult to estimate the impact right now because efforts are being made to build a new gate along with the damaged one.

Anyway, there is no danger to the Kharif paddy crop, but if the leakage problem is not resolved soon, the danger may increase for the next crop. The flow of water from the dam continues uninterrupted.

It is worth noting that paddy is cultivated on a large scale in the Tungabhadra Command Area and it is the main crop there.

Although most of the paddy production in Karnataka takes place in the Kharif season, while in areas with irrigation facilities, farmers cultivate paddy well during the second season in December-January.