Samba cultivators of Karaikal are worried whether Karaikal would get its share of Cauvery water to save their crops.
Karaikal Regional Farmers’ Welfare Society member P Rajendran said, “There has been no water for the past 15 days. If we don’t get water for the next couple of days, the crops will dry up and our hard work will not yield any result.”
Rajendran said that Karaikal farmers had not received any Cauvery water so far. The 5,000 hectares of Samba paddy depended on rain. With weeding taken up, water was required for the crop. Even fertilisers could not be sprayed due to non-availability of water.
“Only if we get Cauvery water can we save the crops,” he added.
It is to be noted that Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and PWD Secretary sought the release of 5.75 tmc of water, which included the shortfall of 1.75 tmc, from the period between November 1 and 15, along with 4 tmc from November 16 to 30. But the Puducherry administration had made no representation at the Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC) meeting.
When asked why the officials stayed away from the CMC meetings on October 31 and November 15, officials said that they were busy with relief work due to Cyclone Nilam on October 31. However, they were silent over their absence from the November 15 meeting.
The official machinery remained complacent believing that Tamil Nadu would secure Cauvery water and that Karaikal would get its three per cent share. The water released from Mettur last month had not reached Karaikal. Officials stated that some water through mutual agreement had reached Karaikal, but Rajendran alleged that they had no clue about the quantity of water that reached.
The officials assured that they would participate in the next CMC meeting scheduled for November 28 to ensure the supply of water from December 1 to 15, he said.
However, there was still a question mark over whether Karaikal would get its share of Cauvery water from November 16 to 30 to save the samba crops.