Debt, drought leave ryots in despair

ANANTAPUR: Pedda Konaiah is crestfallen. Despite drilling a staggering 26 borewells, his efforts to save his grape garden didn't bear fruit. The desperate marginal farmer spent a staggering Rs 9 lakh on the borewells alone to save his three-acre grape crop.
While Konaiah was sucked into morass of debts, his crop too began withering after it was hit by Anthracnose virus a few weeks ago.Sitting in his field at Krishnamreddypalli village in Anantapur rural mandal, Konaiah blames his miserable life on the truant weather.
"Believe it or not, I dug exactly 26 borewells to save my crop. But the entire crop withered away due to lack of rain and the virus," he rues. Konaiah's heart-rending story is not an isolated case of drought hitting the underbelly of farmers. The deficit rain this time around has severely impacted the perennially drought-hit Anantapur district as thousands of farmers are struggling to eke out a livelihood.
Neck-deep in debts, Konaiah has applied for a bank loan to perform the marriage of his eldest daughter. "I am hoping the bankers will come to my rescue," he says. Konaiah began raising the grape garden after he suffered losses in groundnut sowing. "I have spent Rs 20,000 on each borewell to save the crop but there was no luck," he regrets.
Sources said apart from the scanty rainfall, the depleting groundwater levels has compounded the woes of small and marginal farmers. "No matter how deep we dig there's no water," Govindappa of Madakasira area says.
Agriculture experts said though many farmers switched over to ID crops from paddy due to deficit rainfall they had to return empty-handed with no yield. Hanumantharaya of Amarapuram mandal says his 30-year-old three-acre betel nut crop has withered after three borewells in his farm dried up recently. "Though I went more than 700 metres depth, no water was struck," he laments.
Sweet orange orchards in several hundreds of acres withered in the Tadipathri area, while ID crops have dried up in Madakasira, Hindupur and Gorantla mandals. "The weather gods have been cruel this time, and I don't think the government will come to our rescue," Ranga Reddy of Gurugu Chintapalli in Yellanur mandal says.
About 1,000 sweet orange trees withered though Ranga Reddy has spent Rs 10 lakh for drilling 20 borewells. "How do you expect us to make both ends meet in this severe drought?" he asks.