Palamuru Farmers Face Severe Water Scarcity As Reservoirs And Canals Dry Up

On July 13, 2026, farmers in Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s home district of Palamuru, including those in CC Kunta, Koukuntla, Devarkadra, and Madanapur mandals, faced severe water scarcity that has delayed agricultural cultivation. Falling reservoir levels and drying canals have left local farmers reluctant to begin farming due to extreme uncertainty over irrigation water availability.

By this time last year, local farmers had already completed extensive sowing operations. However, this season, the impact of El Nino has turned previously fertile lands barren. Small and marginal farmers are facing the worst of the crisis as cultivation costs continue to rise alongside the water shortage.

Farmers under the Koil Sagar ayacut, which irrigates nearly 12,000 acres of old ayacut and 50,000 acres of new ayacut, are waiting for water to be released from the Jurala project. Normally, paddy is cultivated on nearly 7.5 lakh acres in the erstwhile Palamuru district, following the cotton crop.

The crisis has been compounded by sharply falling water levels in major regional projects, including Nettempadu, Bheema, Koil Sagar, and Kalwakurthy. Canals and borewells that depend on these reservoirs are drying up. Additionally, low water availability in the upstream areas of Karnataka has further restricted the water flow into the district.

While officials released water from the Jurala project to Koil Sagar on June 2 last year, the release this year has only reached up to the Pardipuram project. This has left canals in CC Kunta, Koukuntla, Devarkadra, and Madanapur mandals almost completely dry, heightening anxiety among local cultivators.

In response to the dry conditions, many farmers have appealed to the government to establish an alternative mechanism to supply water to their fields and help them overcome the ongoing irrigation crisis.