Bitter times for Rayalaseema’s sweet lime farmers

The sweet lime trees that farmers in Rayalaseema have tended to for years are drying up, their survival depending on a few drops of water. With borewells running dry and a prolonged rainfall deficit, farmers in and around the Santhanuthalapadu mandal are watching their orchards wither, even as they spend thousands of rupees on water tankers. For many cultivators, the struggle to keep their crops alive has become a costly gamble, with mounting debts and little assurance of a return on their hard labour.

Standing under the glaring sun beside their drip-irrigation lines, farmers in traditional dhotis and duster towels look out at their withering orchards with deep concern, as a deepening water crisis threatens to wipe out the livelihoods they built around sweet lime cultivation.