Dry dams worry rice farmers

Dry dams worry rice farmers

SRAGEN, Central Java: Six dams in Sragen regency have
reportedly dried up over the past few weeks, worrying rice
farmers who are reliant on the water sources.

Head of the regency's Public Works Office Darmawan Minto
Basuki said on Monday that the six dams -- Botok, Ketro, Gebyar,
Blimbing, Brambang, Kembangan and Ngepung -- supplied water for
150 hectares of rice fields.

Bowo, a farmer in Brambang, Kedawung district, said the bigger
Gajah Mungkur dam in Wonogiri had also dried up.

Wells, he said, were another water source but there was a
problem in obtaining kerosene for the water pump. "For people in
the middle- to upper-income bracket, the kerosene scarcity is not
a problem, but for us villagers it really matters," Bowo said. --
Antara