Water woes: Mango growers pray for rain

LUCKNOW: Dip in temperature brought smile on the faces of thousands of mango growers here , who are hopeful of rain. In view of shortage of adequate water supply, rain would be no less than an ‘elixir of life’ for the parched crops, they said.

Mango farmers said water was required for a good yield and rain could help produce maximum size fruit. “The mango crop is in the growing stage and water is required most. The unseasonal rain would help mangoes gain size,” said Padma Shri Haji Kaleem Ullah Khan, also known as ‘Mango Man’, who hails from Malihabad tehsil, falling in the district’s mango belt that comprises two other tehsils—Mall and Kakori.

Of all three tehsils, Malihabad takes the lead in mango production with 23,589 hectares of land under mango farming. But despites its major contribution to mango production, farmers say the tehsil is not on the ‘priority list’ of the officers.

“It is peak time but there is no water in the canal and we are getting a mere 9 to 10 hours of electricity supply,” lamented Khan. He said the water in the canal that catered to the mango growers in Malihabad was supposed to reach by April 26. But the water level in the canal (Badi Nahar) was still insufficient. “In such a grim situation, rain is the only hope,” he said.

Other farmers blamed another village Dilawar, situated 5km away from Malihabad, for water scarcity. “People there are sucking away all the water in the Sharda canal using heavy duty pumps and since the flow of water is less, its unable to reach Malihabad,” said Mohammed Miyan, head of Mujasa village in the tehsil Miyan also blamed the erratic electricity supply for poor water availability .

“With poor electricity supply, the tube-wells are of no use. How to water plants? It’s a big question for the farmers here who are looking up to the rain god for help,” he said . Farmers say this year the crop is one of the best they ever had, but the water crisis may play a spoilsport.

In a meeting last month, the district magistrate had issued strict instructions to the electricity and irrigation departments to ensure better facilities to mango growers in the belt.

But farmers say nothing much has been done.