Farmers under the Krishna Delta ayacut in Eluru district staged a protest on Monday, demanding that the state government release irrigation water for the kharif season through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme. The farmers alleged that the water department failed to tap alternative sources for water supply to the delta. The farmers leader asked why officials had not supplied water to about 10,000 acres through the Ponangi Puntha Canal in Eluru Rural mandal. He said farmers in the Krishna delta intended to cultivate paddy during the kharif season and shift to alternative crops during rabi. Krishna delta farmers Vadavalli Rama Rao, Dasari Hanumantha Rao, B Lakshmana Rao, Dasari Satish and others participated in the protest.