The first thing that farmers in Sangareddy district do these days as soon as they wake up is to look up at the sky. Even before they go to sleep, they strain their eyes checking the night sky for any clouds that could mean rains to save their crops.
When farmer Manne Lingaiah (65) lost hope of getting rain after an extended dry spell, he hired a water tanker by spending Rs.2,000 on each trip to save his paddy nursery. He engaged four tankers during the last four days, hoping that the area would get rain soon. Lingaiah, who holds 2.5 acres of land at Chowtakur mandal headquarters, had taken another 3 acres on lease from a farmer in the village.